The European Parliament voted today for a resolution calling for a global ban on animal testing for cosmetics by 2023.

Seb Dance MEP, Labour’s European Parliament spokesperson on animal testing, said:

“The EU has led the way on banning the testing of cosmetic products on animals, but it’s still allowed in eighty per cent of countries around the world - the UN must act and bring in a global ban on cosmetic testing.

“Currently, some products are tested on animals outside the EU before being re-tested in the EU using different methods and placed on the EU market. These loopholes need to be closed, and it is vital that all trade deals exclude such products.

“In many parts of the world, animals are suffering and dying by having cosmetics such as lipstick and shampoo tested on them. Up to two hundred thousand rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters and mice are used in tests around the globe, subjected to skin and irritation tests, where chemicals are rubbed onto shaved skin or dripped into eyes; repeated oral force-feeding; and forced to swallow massive amounts of test chemicals to determine the deadly dose.

“The EU has shown that there is another way, one that does not harm animals while also not damaging the cosmetics industry. Europe is the world's largest market for cosmetic products with the European cosmetic sector providing two million jobs.

“EU leaders must now go to the UN and work to build a global coalition for an international convention that bans cosmetic testing all around the world.”