Advancing animal-free testing: Coalition of cosmetics titans accelerate humane safety assessments

09 Feb 2023 --- Animal-free safety testing for cosmetics and beauty ingredients is largely hindered by inconsistencies across global regulatory policies. Addressing this, more than 35 cosmetics manufacturers and suppliers, industry associations and animal protection organizations have linked up to launch the International Collaboration on Cosmetics Safety (ICCS). 

The organizations are scaling animal-free methods of testing, with the aim to ensure they are accepted and used by all involved in cosmetics safety testing. In some cases, animal-free assessments have been found to work more effectively than animal testing.

“For some toxicological endpoints we see the non-animal methods outperforming the animal test. That is, they are more reproducible and predictive of [effects of the product on] humans,” Erin Hill, president and CEO of ICCS, tells PersonalCareInsights.

“There are several [non-animal testing] methods for assessing eye irritation, skin irritation or sensitization. Many of them rely on human cells in culture and some incorporate computer modeling,” Hill details.

“Particularly in the area of skin sensitization, the animal-free safety assessments have greater reproducibility and predict human outcomes better than the animal test.”

In the EU, animal testing for cosmetics has been banned for ten years but due to various loopholes, consumers are unknowingly purchasing products that have been tested on animals.

The ICCS consortium comprises notable industry giants including BASF, Beiersdorf, Chanel, Colgate-Palmolive, Edgewell, Estee Lauder Companies, Evonik, International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF), KAO, L'Oréal, Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH), Procter & Gamble Company (P&G), Shiseido, Unilever and Wella Company.

Background on cruelty-free testing
In the EU, animal testing for cosmetics has been banned for ten years but due to various loopholes, consumers are unknowingly purchasing products that have been tested on animals. 

“While animal testing is banned on cosmetics products in the EU, the European Chemicals Agency, ECHA, can require animal testing data on cosmetics ingredients for workers’ exposure or environmental endpoints,” explains Hill.

“ECHA can also require animal testing for cosmetics ingredients as part of the chemical management process. However, for cosmetics-only ingredients, this data cannot be relied upon for cosmetics safety assessment, in line with the animal testing ban under the European Cosmetics Products Regulation.”

European consumer awareness about this issue has been growing steadily through projects such as the Save Cruelty-Free Cosmetics European Citizens’ Initiative, which gained over 1.2 million signatures.

But there are still some brands that choose to continue selling into international markets that still require animal testing on cosmetics, notably China. PETA UK science policy manager Dr. Julia Baines previously exposed inconsistencies among products sold on multiple markets – highlighting the fact that companies claiming to be “cruelty-free” in the EU could be simultaneously testing on animals in order to sell to the Chinese market.

According to the Cosmetic Supervision and Administration Regulation – implemented in 2021 by the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA), in order to be exempt from animal testing in China – the ordinary cosmetics product formula must only contain ingredients that have passed the three-year monitoring period and been included in the 2021 Inventory of Existing Cosmetic Ingredients list.

Scaling “sound scientific solutions”
For nearly 40 years, the cosmetics and personal care industry and animal protection organizations under ICCS have been actively developing, evaluating and using animal-free safety assessment approaches.

The goal of the coalition is to supply “sound scientific solutions” based on innovative animal-free approaches.

In some cases, animal-free assessments have been found to work more effectively than animal testing.This includes significant contributions to the replacement of regulatory animal testing to address skin irritation, genetic toxicology, eye irritation and skin sensitization through innovations in silico and in vitro methodologies.

“A big advantage of in vitro and in silico tests is that they are much faster to conduct than many of the animal studies. That can often result in less overall expense,” says Hill.

Today, even while these research and animal-free science methods have progressed, ICCS outlines that many policies and regulations still require animal test data and have not yet incorporated the rapid progress in applying innovative, animal-free science to safety assessment.

“This drives a need for animal data even where viable alternatives exist,” underscores the organization.

Animal testing awareness on the rise
Hill observes that significant scientific advancements in the development, evaluation and use of animal-free safety assessment methods have risen in recent decades.

In the US, New York became the tenth US state to prohibit the sale of cosmetics tested on animals after Governor Kathy Hochul signed the Cruelty Free Cosmetics Act into law.

Under the terms of the Act, it was recently announced that selling cosmetics newly tested on animals will be prohibited in New York from January this year.

Instead, manufacturers in the state will have to use widely available non-animal testing methods. Cosmetics currently on the market will remain available.

“ICCS brings together scientists from leading organizations around the world to continue this momentum and work toward our shared ambition for a future where no ingredients or products are tested on animals,” remarks Hill.

In the US, New York became the tenth US state to prohibit the sale of cosmetics tested on animals after Governor Kathy Hochul signed the Cruelty Free Cosmetics Act into law.

Hill comes to ICCS from the Institute for In Vitro Sciences (IIVS), which she co-founded in 1997 and most recently served as president. IIVS is a non-profit research and testing laboratory dedicated to the use and acceptance of non-animal test methods worldwide. 

Hill brings extensive knowledge to the role of president and CEO of ICCS, having worked collaboratively with stakeholders to provide education and training in non-animal test methods. 

Her position at ICCS will allow her to draw on resources from IIVS and other members to create programs specifically designed to advance the acceptance of these new approaches for cosmetics and their ingredients.

Developments in cruelty-free
Last May, Unilever warned that the progress on banning animal testing for good was experiencing a “backward slide.” The company flagged that the European Chemicals Agency allowed loopholes for new animal tests.

Recent analysis by Provenance demonstrates that 79% of shoppers have doubts about the trustworthiness of the environmental sustainability and social impact claims of beauty and wellness brands.

Yet many celebrity-led products released this year sport the cruelty-free tag, with recent examples including Billie Eilish’s Eilish No. 2 fragrance launch; new makeup lines by Alicia Keys, Lady Gaga and Stella McCartney and Nyx Professional Makeup’s latest vegan palette inspired by the film Avatar.

Alongside ambitions to eliminate animal testing is a rising sentiment among consumers favoring vegan products. Innova Market Insights highlights that the use of vegan claims in personal care launches increased globally, featuring a 36% annual growth when comparing 2021 and 2020 launches.

The Vegan Society recently forecasted that the animal-free cosmetics industry will climb to a worth of US$21.4 billion by 2027. Out of more than 60,000 products registered with the Vegan Trademark globally, 45% belong to the cosmetics and toiletries category.

By Benjamin Ferrer