In October, XCellR8 Founder and CEO Carol Treasure was invited to take part in a panel discussion at the United Nations 18th General Assembly. The UN is working to achieve 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Carol spoke on the topic of #SDG12 – Responsible Production and Consumption.
Our friends at The Body Shop and Cruelty Free International have been campaigning for a global ban on animal testing for cosmetics, arguing that ethics aside, scientific advances now mean that consumer safety is better protected using non-animal tests. They successfully delivered a petition with 8 million signatories to the UN during the course of the week; a global ban would represent a huge leap forward in achieving a world with more responsible consumption.
In the panel discussion, Carol was asked about what alternatives are now available to animal tests and to explain why they offer superior results compared to historic animal data. She also discusses how regulation around the world may be changed, following the example of the EU’s cosmetic ban in 2013. If the world’s largest cosmetic market can successfully introduce a ban, it should provide a template for other countries. However, consumer demand plays a key part in putting pressure on governments and cultural differences around the world can make this process slower where animal welfare is a lesser consideration. We have encouraging news from California, Korea, Australia, Brazil and more though, so there’s plenty of room for optimism.
Finally, thinking of the world beyond cosmetics and personal care, which is a very progressive and consumer driven industry, the idea of animal testing bans for household chemicals, agri-chemicals, veterinary products and maybe even topical pharmaceuticals was discussed. We know how fast new technologies are evolving and how unreliable animal data can be, so the future looks bright.
Watch the full discussion here.
