15 Sep CRUELTY FREE LEGISLATION
Navigating Cruelty Free Legislation
Have you heard about Cruelty Free legislation? Sure, but you should know that there is a lot of misinformation and confusion on the part of specialized media and companies in the cosmetic sector around these words, which, in recent weeks have generated a huge number of headlines by putting the debate in society.
The “Cruelty Free” is a movement whose purpose is to eliminate animal tests aimed at guaranteeing the safety of cosmetics. As an alternative, valid methods are adopted, which do not require the use of animals.
The term was trendy on social media last weeks, due to the recent decision by the Chinese authorities to end mandatory animal testing with some types of cosmetics.
In Europe, however, it is forbidden to test cosmetics on animals since 2013, any product tested after this date can be sold, even if it has been tested for sale in China.
Under this premise, any finished product introduced on the European market after 2004 has been tested on animals, whether they bear the logo or not.
Cruelty free logo on cosmetics
Many European companies use the “Cruelty-Free” logo on the packaging of their products to indicate that they are not tested on animals, but this is just a marketing movement that, rather than helping the end consumer, confuses them because it makes them think that products that do not carry this “Cruelty Free” logo on their products are testing their products on animals. In addition, since 2009 it is not allowed to advertise the absence of tests on animals in cosmetics.
European regulations say that any company can sell cosmetic products in Europe if they have been tested on animals, this would apply to all products, whether they bear the logo on the packaging or not.
In Chapter V, Article 18 of Cosmetic Regulation 1223/2009 it is specified that it is not allowed to test the cosmetic product. In addition, the person responsible for placing the product on the market must justify that the product is not tested on animals in the Technical Report of the product.
Currently, due to social media, there are many doubts and mistrust about “Cruelty Free legislation”, and the information on the internet is still not clear about which products are free of animal cruelty, but we must be certain that every cosmetic product we buy in Europe is Cruelty-Free.
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