History

Cosmetic Testing on Animals Timeline of Events

  • 1933: A mascara brand called Lash Lure blinded a dozen women as it contained untested chemical, p-phenylenediamine, and cosmetic testing on animals became popular, as it was the only way to test safety of products.
  • 1938: The United States Food, Drug & Cosmetic Act required confirmation on the safety of cosmetic products which influenced businesses to test their products on animals.
  • 1944: Draize Test Eye Irritancy Test was created.
  • 1980: Successful campaign made by advocate Henry Spira to stop cosmetic brand Revlon to stop the use of Draize test.
  • 1991: The European Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods is established in order to seek alternative methods that reduce, refine and replace animals.
  • 1998: The UK banned cosmetic testing on animals.
  • 2000: United States organizations looked for ways to find alternative testing methods and signed the Interagency Coordination Committee on the Validation of Alternative Methods (ICCVAM) Authorization Act. California is the first state to require companies to use different methods.
  • 2004: The European Union bans production and sale of animal-tested cosmetics and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) approves using non-animal testing for dermal absorption, corrosiveness and phototoxicity.
  • 2007: Israel bans cosmetic animal testing.
  • 2013: EU full ban on sales of newly tested cosmetics.
  • 2014: India bans cosmetic testing on animals of products, ingredients as well as import of newly animal tested cosmetics.
  • 2015: New Zealand bans cosmetic testing on animals for products and ingredients that are exclusively used for cosmetics. Turkey bans cosmetic animal testing for products and ingredients where an alternative exists.
  • 2016: Taiwan bans cosmetic testing on animals for some products and ingredients. Switzerland passes a law to ban the sale of newly animal-tested cosmetics.
  • 2017: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil bans cosmetic testing on animals as well as the sale of newly tested cosmetics.
  • 2018: Cruelty-free Cosmetics Act in Canada passes the Senate.

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