Unilever Actively Embraces "Cruelty-Free Cosmetics"

Save Cruelty-Free Cosmetics: Committed to a Europe without animal testing Ahead of the European Commission's response to the European Citizens' Initiative (ECI) "Save Cruelty-Free Cosmetics - Committed to a Europe Without Animal Testing," Dr. Julia Fentem, Head of Global Safety, Environmental, and Regulatory Science, shared her views on recent events. As a leading advocate and pioneer of using cutting-edge non-animal science to design safe and sustainable chemicals and products, Unilever has supported the European Citizens' Initiative (ECI) "Save Cruelty-Free Cosmetics - Committed to a Europe Without Animal Testing" over the past two years. In January 2023, it reached more than 1.2 million verified signatures. Following the preliminary meeting between the ECI organizers and the European Commission, a public hearing was held on May 25 by a European Parliament committee. Unilever's Dr. Julia Fentem was invited to speak alongside Dr. Julia Baines of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) on ending animal testing for all cosmetic ingredients. The European Commission's formal response and action plan had to be published by July 25, 2023. The 2009 EU cosmetics testing ban was an important stimulus for major advances in non-animal safety science, and for the development of a new toolbox to assess the safety of consumers, workers, and the environment without resorting to new animal testing. Rapid advances in science and technology mean we can use innovative non-animal methods to generate more relevant safety data faster and in greater volume. This ECI should be viewed in the context of developing regulations that promote better human health and environmental protection as well as better animal welfare. Unilever hopes that the strong support of EU citizens for the ECI means that, at the very least, relevant EU policies and regulations will be changed so that they promote transparency and compliance with the key legislative principle that "any animal testing is a last resort." Now, both industry and regulators are more open to building new scientific capabilities in non-animal methods. In the background paper for the May 2023 workshop on transitioning to an animal-free regulatory system for industrial chemicals, the European Chemicals Agency noted that "it is possible to develop robust alternatives based on non-animal methods that can provide a level of protection equal to or higher than the current level for many toxicological properties." We are at a regulatory tipping point for using modern non-animal safety science for chemical registration purposes; it is crucial that the European Commission responds positively and progressively to the demands of EU citizens. As a top priority, we must address the challenge of using non-animal methods for cosmetic ingredients to ensure worker and environmental safety as well as consumer safety. This should have been done 10 years ago; let us delay no longer.