Washington state sets stricter penalties for animal-tested cosmetics while advocates push for federal bill

19 Mar 2024 --- Washington State will ban cosmetics tested on animals starting next year. The new law will not apply to animal-tested products or ingredients before the date of enforcement. Governor Jay Inslee signed H.B. 1097, making Washington, US, the 12th state to prohibit the sale of cosmetics tested on animals.

The bill seeks to outlaw the state’s “cruel and unnecessary” use of animals for cosmetic testing, including rats, mice, guinea pigs and rabbits.

“Beginning January 1, 2025, it is unlawful for a manufacturer to sell or offer for sale in this state a cosmetic if the cosmetic was developed or manufactured using cosmetic animal testing that was conducted or contracted for by the manufacturer or any supplier of the manufacturer,” reads the bill.

According to the bill, the law does not apply if the animal testing was done to meet a requirement of a foreign regulatory authority, as long as no evidence from that testing was used to prove the safety of the cosmetic product being sold in Washington. However, the bill specifies requirements that must be fulfilled to qualify for this exemption.

Animals like rabbits, guinea pigs, mice and rats will not be subject to testing in Washington.“A manufacturer that sells or offers for sale a cosmetic in violation of this chapter commits a civil violation punishable by a fine of not more than US$5,000 for each violation,” continues the legislature.

Curbing cruel testing
According to The Humane Society, animals subjected to cosmetic testing often endure painful procedures, including forceful ingestion of chemicals and eye drip and skin application trials, without any pain relief. 

It adds, “widely condemned ‘lethal dose’ tests are still performed, in which rats are forced to swallow large amounts of chemicals to determine the dose that causes death. At the end of these tests, the animals are killed, normally by asphyxiation, neck-breaking or decapitation.”

However, the state law aims to prevent such suffering by prohibiting the sale of cosmetic products that underwent new animal testing.

Companies like Lush Cosmetics support the movement against cosmetic animal testing.Washington joins 11 other states banning animal-tested cosmetics, including California, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon and Virginia. 

Industry backs ban
State legislation aligns with the federal Humane Cosmetics Act, which seeks to eliminate animal testing for cosmetics by establishing a uniform national standard, says The Humane Society. It says hundreds of businesses, including Lush plus the Personal Care Products Council, which represents 90% of the US cosmetics market, endorse the bill. 

“Washington has become the latest state to take a stand against the use of painful animal tests for cosmetic products like shampoo, aftershave and mascara by passing legislation to end the sale of cosmetics that have been subject to new animal testing,” says Dan Paul, Washington state director for the Humane Society, US. 

“With an ever-increasing number of non-animal methods available, there is no excuse to continue to rely on cruel and outdated animal tests. We thank Rep. Amy Walen for her leadership on this issue and Gov. Inslee for signing the bill into law. Now we must ensure that Congress moves quickly to pass the federal Humane Cosmetics Act to provide a consistent standard for ensuring an end to cosmetics animal testing nationwide.”

By Venya Patel