Cruelty-free solutions: New strides in animal-free chemical safety testing

02 Apr 2024 --- The cosmetics industry is witnessing a surge in cruelty-free products, particularly in Europe, where consumer demand for ethical beauty options is rising. Personal Care Insights explores the latest innovations aimed at eliminating animal testing for chemicals, including artificial skin models and metabolomics for safety assessments. 

Innova Market Insights data indicates global cosmetic launches with cruelty-free claims witnessed a 17% CAGR between October 2018 and September 2023. Europe was the frontrunner, with one out of two cosmetic launches with a cruelty-free claim.

The market researcher adds that nearly half of the launches were for face/body cosmetics. There was also a 183% rise in ethical packaging claims in cruelty-free cosmetic launches. Fast-growing positionings in cruelty-free launches include “plant-based, sensitive skin and vegetarian.”

Cruelty-free cosmetics
Sarah Bachir-Levy, global marketing and sales processes manager at Eurofins Cosmetics & Personal Care, tells us, “Since the beginning, Eurofins Cosmetics & Personal Care has been offering in vitro tests through its laboratory network worldwide to assess the safety and efficacy of finished [cosmetic] products and ingredients. We also offer an ex vivo approach to evaluate the efficacy of finished products and ingredients.” 

“In the in vitro domain, our main innovations revolve around vegan alternatives for many of our protocols. Additionally, we have contributed to implementing OECD [Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development] methods for endocrine disruptors. In the ex vivo realm, we are among the pioneers and can offer numerous customized protocols for specific claims, such as wound healing.”

RSMN and RS Comet assays are mentioned as viable alternatives to animal testing.In Europe, policy shifts are driving forward scientific advancements in animal-free testing. Earlier this month, the European Union Reference Laboratory for Alternatives to Animal Testing (EURL ECVAM) at the Joint Research Centre recounted last year’s achievements in advancing non-animal methods in research and testing. 

It highlighted the European Commission’s roadmap toward phasing out animal testing for chemical safety. The initiative responds to the European Citizens’ Initiative “Save Cruelty-Free Cosmetics – Commit to a Europe without Animal Testing,” underscoring a “collective commitment” to ethical and innovative practices.

Artificial skin models
Reconstructed Skin Micronucleus (RSMN) and Reconstructed Skin Comet (RS Comet) assays are mentioned as viable alternatives to animal testing in the EURL ECVAM report. These methods have been validated by Cosmetics Europe for use in genotoxicity tests on topically exposed substances.

The RSMN test uses a human epidermis model called EpiDerm, resembling human skin. The RS Comet test uses a skin model called the Phenion full-thickness skin model, which mimics human skin structure. The report advocates using the tests for regulatory genotoxicity analyses that expose “gene mutation, clastogenicity and aneugenicity.”

In other animal-free testing advancements, Exsymol developed an active ingredient portfolio using 3D in vitro models of human adipose tissue in partnership with French biotechnology start-up from Nice University ExAdEx-Innov. 

The patented ExAdEx technology cultivates human adipose tissue culture for cosmetic assessments by offering a new safety testing method for product screening. The collaboration says it will use the tissue models to assess new claims and generate relevant data.

Metabolomics for identifying chemical safety
The University of Birmingham is currently leading a project in collaboration with BASF Metabolome Solutions, EU Chemicals Agency (ECHA), Imperial College London, Syngenta, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and the US Environmental Protection Agency.

Metabolomics explores how chemicals react biologically and provides insight into possible consequences.Their recent research in Archives of Toxicology, Springer, introduced a “robust” method of testing chemical safety, which may reduce the need for animal testing by improving the reliability of the read-across and grouping approaches.

Metabolomics explores how chemicals react biologically and provides insight into possible consequences, details University of Birmingham. In contrast to traditional methods that only consider structural similarity, metabolomics offers information about the complex reactions that chemicals cause, allowing for a more nuanced evaluation of their safety.

According to the university, traditional methods of assessing chemical safety often rely on animal testing, particularly on lab rats, which raises ethical concerns and poses logistical challenges. 

“Thankfully, in the context of [EU] cosmetic products, animal testing has been banned for many years according to certain regulations. And this is gradually spreading to all countries,” says Bachir-Levy.

Although banned in the EU, animal testing has not been eliminated, as seen in a recent case with the European Court rejecting Symrise’s appeal to avoid animal testing on two ingredients already approved and used in sunscreens.

Are we closer to eliminating animal testing?
After rigorous testing, the University of Birmingham believes metabolomics could impact academia, industry and regulatory bodies. 

Viant belives rats are “not a good model for humans.”“By making the grouping and read-across approach more robust using metabolomics, the number of lab rats being tested could be dramatically cut,” comments professor Mark Viant, School of Biosciences at the University of Birmingham. 

Viant adds that rats are “not a good model for humans” in the first place, and reproducibility of rat testing is “not great.” Additionally, he notes toxicity tests for just one chemical may require more than 1,000 rats.

“With tens of thousands of chemicals requiring testing in Europe, and while not all of these require the same level of testing, a lot of them will end up being tested on rats,” he stresses. 

“Even without the ethical considerations, this is a costly and slow process. So, by making the grouping and read-across approach more robust by using metabolomics, the number of lab rats being tested could be dramatically cut.”

Tomasz Sobanski, team leader for Alternative Methods in the Computational Assessment and Alternative Methods Unit, ECHA, adds: “The need to demonstrate the reliability of metabolomics was first identified during one of our workshops in 2016. We are very impressed with the results of this research, and we believe that they will improve grouping and read-across.”

“We hope that learnings from this research will be included in new guidance for the chemical industry to allow commercial laboratories to provide these services widely.”

Personal Care Insights recently spoke to Sobanski about employing molecular biological techniques to shift away from putting animals through chemical testing.

US progress
Unlike Europe, the US does not have a ban on animal-tested cosmetics. However, Innova Market Insights finds US/Canada follows Europe at 24% for cosmetic launches with cruelty-free claims (October 2018 to September 2023).

Several states have been setting restrictions, with Washington State becoming the 12th and most recent state to ban cosmetics tested on animals. The law will go into effect next January, joining California, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon and Virginia.

Earlier this year, Chile became the fourth country in LATAM to ban animal testing and trade, while Canada’s ban officially became law.

By Venya Patel