The quest for beauty often takes a heavy toll. You may have assumed that most major cosmetic companies were on board with alternatives to cruelty to animals, but there are some that still pay to poison and kill. It isn’t always easy to know which brands are completely cruelty-free. For instance, one international brand highly popular in the South Asian market doesn’t test on animals in the United States, but pays for deadly testing in China, where archaic and painful experiments on animals are required for cosmetics.
Our grandparents wouldn’t have heard of words like ‘cruelty-free products’ and ‘ethical cosmetics’. But every time our grandmothers ground turmeric roots and smeared the paste on their face and feet, or used castor oil/milk-cream to smoothen their skins they were practising exactly this. Simple homemade beauty-aids free of chemicals and cruelty!
Unfortunately, we do not know how many brands sold in Sri Lanka are tested on animals. Quite a few manufacturers have a heart and don’t do animal testing. Some brands do carry a label that says so. However, it is alleged that some labels might be deceptive or misleading. Every year, millions of animals are poisoned and killed in barbaric tests crudely developed as long ago as the 1920s to evaluate the toxicity of consumer products and their ingredients. Rats, mice, guinea pigs, rabbits, and other animals are forced to swallow or inhale massive quantities of a test substance or endure the pain of a chemical eating away at their sensitive eyes and skin. Sadly, this continues even though the results of animal tests are often unreliable or not applicable to humans
Ironically, these animals are hurt simply because the manufacturers do not want you - the user - to be hurt in any way. The makers of face creams, lipsticks, deodorants, aftershaves, eyeliners, etc., want them to be completely safe for you - not give you a rash, itch or swelling. Maybe because you would protest! Anyway, for your safety, these products are tested for allergies and possible adverse effects on animals, and the reactions watched and recorded. And unlike human volunteers in experiments, none of these creatures are willing subjects.
Non-animal tests
As hard as it is to believe, animal experiments for cosmetics and household products continue even though non-animal tests are widely available. Instead of measuring how long it takes a chemical to burn the cornea of a rabbit’s eye, manufacturers can now drop that chemical onto cornea-like 3D tissue structures produced from human cells. Likewise, human skin cultures can be grown and purchased for skin irritation testing. There are dozens more non-animal tests currently in use that are faster and more accurate at predicting human reactions to a product than animal tests ever were.
Sadly, despite the availability of alternatives, countless number of animals are still subjected to cruel tests around the world to bring a new eye shadow or cologne to the market. In many cases, industry inertia and bureaucracy are the only barriers to switching to non-animal testing methods. It is a sad fact that the only way some companies will embrace non-animal tests is if they are legally required to do so.
The European Union has been phasing out animal testing since 2003, and in 2013 a complete ban on the testing and marketing of new animal-tested cosmetics and ingredients went into effect. Europe, Israel and India now have bans in place while New Zealand, Brazil, South Korea, and Vietnam are also making strides toward ending cosmetic testing on animals and China has lifted the animal testing requirement for certain cosmetics produced within China.
In a global market it is important for all countries to ban animal testing for cosmetics to avoid testing simply moving around the world to countries with no effective laws. Sri Lanka too should follow suit by banning manufacture or importation of such products.
Going back to our roots
These modern quicker, cheaper and more reliable non-animal methods have been found to predict human reactions better than the traditional outdated animal tests. Companies can prove their products are safe by using established ingredients. There are, for example, almost 20,000 ingredients in the European Union’s database for which safety data is available.
After New Zealand passed its ban in 2015, the Cosmetics, Toiletry and Fragrance Association said they did not need animal tests, adding, “There might be some perception that we are actually testing within New Zealand so it’s actually in the best interests of the exporting industry that we have a ban.
In Sri Lanka we have the Animal Act No. 29 of 1958 and the proposed Animal Welfare Bill. One is 62 years old and the other pending legislation. In both these Bills the discussed subject is not covered. So, we need new legislation such as the, Humane Cosmetics Act which has been introduced in many other countries.
The information on animal testing in Sri Lanka is rather debatable at its best. There’s barely any official communication on the subject, companies are unable (or unwilling) to tell you what their testing policies are, and consumers don’t really know how to go about finding out.
So, what should we do? Use investigative work, demonstrations, web outreach, special events such as college festivals, involvement of celebrity volunteers and national media coverage to bring about improvements to the quality of life for animals and to save animals’ lives.
The issue in Sri Lanka is that there are no specific laws against animal testing. Some countries such as, China, for example, insist that animal testing occurs in order for a brand to sell within its markets so that brands that open there have to abide by these rules. There are yet others who have banned animal testing entirely.
The question is – which group should we follow? Above all, we are a country consisting of mainly Buddhists and Hindus where traditional beliefs are highly respected. Both religions respect animal rights and that itself would be sufficient for us to go ahead with banning animal testing.