For decades, animal welfare advocates have been working to end the testing of makeup and personal care products on animals. See how far we’ve come and how you can help support the Be Cruelty-Free campaign, our global effort to end cosmetics cruelty.
1938-1979 | 1980-1999 | 2000-2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017
1938-1979
1938: The United States Food, Drug & Cosmetic Act is signed into law, requiring some safety substantiation of cosmetic products compelling companies to begin testing their products on animals.
1944: Draize eye and skin irritancy tests are developed. Considered for decades to be the gold standard for cosmetic safety assessments, these tests cause immense animal suffering.
1980-1999
1980: Advocate Henry Spira wages a successful campaign to get cosmetics company Revlon to stop using the Draize test.
1991: The European Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods is established to oversee the development and acceptance of alternative test methods that reduce, refine and replace animals.
1996: Animal protection groups band together to form the Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics. The coalition manages the Leaping Bunny cruelty-free certification program in the United States and Canada.
1998: The United Kingdom bans animal testing for cosmetic products and ingredients.
2000-2012
2000: Interagency Coordination Committee on the Validation of Alternative Methods (ICCVAM) Authorization Act is signed. This law established a coordinated effort by United States agencies to evaluate and adopt alternative test methods.
2000: California becomes the first state to pass a law requiring companies to use alternatives validated by ICCVAM.
2004: The European Union passes a law phasing out the production and sale of animal tested cosmetics.
2004: The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) approves non-animal alternative tests for dermal absorption, dermal corrosivity, and dermal phototoxicity.
2005: The Japanese Center for the Validation of Alternative Methods (JaCVAM) is established.
2006: OECD approves another non-animal alternative test for dermal corrosivity.
2007: Israel bans the use of animals to test cosmetics.
2007: New Jersey passes a law requiring companies to use alternatives validated by ICCVAM.
2008: New York passes a law requiring companies to use alternatives validated by ICCVAM.
2009: OECD approves non-animal alternative tests for ocular toxicity.
2010: OECD approves a non-animal alternative test for dermal irritation.
2011: The EU ban on animal testing of cosmetic ingredients and sale of cosmetic products and ingredients newly tested on animals goes into effect for all but a few test areas.
2010: Israel passes a law to phase out the sale of animal tested cosmetics.
2012: OECD approves another alternative for ocular toxicity.
2013
January: Israel implements a prohibition on the sale of all cosmetics that have been newly tested on animals.
March: The full EU ban on the sale of newly animal tested cosmetics takes effect.
March: Norway bans cosmetic animal testing and the sale of newly animal tested cosmetics.
2014
January: São Paulo, Brazil, bans cosmetic animal testing.
March: The Humane Cosmetics Act, legislation to prohibit cosmetic animal testing and the sale of newly animal tested cosmetics, is introduced in the U.S.
March:The End Cruel Cosmetics bill to end the production and sale of newly animal tested cosmetics and cosmetic ingredients is introduced in the Australian Senate.
May: India bans cosmetic animal testing.
June: China implements a rule to remove mandatory animal testing for non-special use cosmetics manufactured within China.
November: India bans the import of newly animal tested cosmetics.
2015
2015: OECD approves additional non-animal alternative tests for eye and skin irritation as well as tests for skin allergy.
March: South Korea introduces legislation to ban the manufacture and sale of some newly animal tested cosmetics where government-recognized, non-animal alternatives exist.
March: New Zealand bans cosmetic animal testing for finished products and ingredients intended exclusively for use in cosmetics.
April: Taiwan introduces legislation to ban cosmetic animal testing and the sale of newly animal tested ingredients.
June: Canada introduces the Cruelty-Free Cosmetics Act to ban cosmetic animal testing and the sale of newly animal tested ingredients.
June: The Humane Cosmetics Act is reintroduced in the U.S.
July: Turkey bans cosmetic animal testing and the sale of newly animal tested cosmetic products and ingredients where a validated alternative exists, effective January 2016.
September: Brazilian Senator proposes amendments to cosmetics bill to include ban on animal tested ingredients and the sale of newly animal tested cosmetics.
September: Russia introduces bill to phase out the production and sale of animal tested cosmetics and cosmetic ingredients where validated alternatives exist.
December: The Cruelty-Free Cosmetics Act is reintroduced in Canada.
December: South Korea passes law to partially ban the manufacture and sale of newly animal tested cosmetic products and ingredients where government-recognized, non-animal alternatives exist.
2016
February: The Ethical Cosmetics Bill to end the production and sale of newly animal-tested cosmetics and cosmetic ingredients is introduced in the Australian House.
March: The Swiss government announces it will take measures to ban the sale of cosmetics containing ingredients newly tested on animals.
June: Australia’s federal government announces its commitment to ban the production and sale of animal-tested cosmetics by July, 2017.
July: OECD approves a new alternative test method for skin allergy.
October: Taiwan bans cosmetic animal testing for finished products and ingredients (effective 2019).
December: Switzerland passes an ordinance to ban the sale of newly animal tested cosmetics (effective May 2017).
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2017
February: Guatemala becomes first country in the Americas to ban cosmetic animal testing.