Forever Against Animal Testing
25 years after the UK banned animal testing for cosmetics, we are still fighting to stop animals suffering and dying in the name of beauty
The UK government secretly abandoned the ban in 2019 – a fact only revealed earlier this year after a legal challenge by Cruelty Free International. After a public outcry and pressure from Cruelty Free International, the government partially reintroduced the ban – but only for ingredients exclusively used in cosmetics (about 20% of the total).
The Body Shop and Cruelty Free International worked hard to win that full ban in 1998 – and have again joined forces to call for it to be reinstated in its entirety.
Support our pledge campaign to bring back the ban
From December, the campaign will also be visible in selected The Body Shop stores around the UK, where in-store displays will urge customers to join the fight against animal testing. The brand is reviving the iconic vintage 'Against Animal Testing' t-shirts from 1998, which can be purchased online and in certain stores.
"It is unbelievable that the fight to end such needless suffering continues 25 years after we thought we had won a permanent ban on animal testing for cosmetics in the UK. That the Government secretly abandoned the ban in 2019 was a betrayal of the wishes of the British public. The partial reinstatement of the ban, earlier this year, was welcome but clearly did not go far enough.
I am proud of the achievements that The Body Shop and ourselves have made, demonstrating that animal testing is outdated and unnecessary, especially with the increased availability of non-animal testing methods. The public want animal testing for cosmetics to end and leading companies support our call for a cruelty-free world. We believe that nothing should prevent the Home Office from reinstating the ban we worked so hard for. Let’s end animal testing for cosmetics once and for all. We won the fight in 1998 and we will win again."
Michelle Thew, CEO, Cruelty Free International
TAKE THE PLEDGE
We need you to pledge to help kick animal testing out of your home
I pledge to help kick testing on animals out of our homes by supporting policies to:
- Strengthen the ban – Strengthen the cosmetics testing ban by putting the full 1998 ban on animal testing for cosmetics ingredients into law, so that no government can reverse it in secret
- Make our homes safer – Modernise the testing of chemicals that go into the products we use every day
- Deliver a government-led plan to target zero tests on animals – with a Minister dedicated to delivery across government