SANTIAGO DE CHILE—A federal cruelty-free cosmetics bill championed by Humane Society International and Te Protejo passed the first stage of review by the Health Commission within the Chilean Chamber of Deputies with bipartisan political support, regulatory backing and the support of cosmetics companies. The Health Commission unanimously supported Bulletin 13.966-11 to ban animal testing for cosmetics, as well as the import or sale of beauty products developed with reliance on new animal testing carried out anywhere in the world after the law comes into force. The commission voted to move forward to study the bill in further detail.

“We are delighted to see that this bill has widespread support, and commend members of the Health Commission, the Chilean Cosmetic Chamber and the Institute of Public Health for their support in moving this groundbreaking legislation to the next stage in the legislative process. We are looking forward to seeing Chile become the next country to be cruelty-free,” said Daniela Sanchez, HSI country director for Chile.

The bill is supported by industry leaders like Lush, Unilever, P&G, L’Oréal and Avon, which are working with HSI to secure meaningful animal testing bans in many of the world’s most influential beauty markets, including Chile. In addition to pursuing legislative bans, HSI and its partners are collaborating to develop a training program under the Animal-Free Safety Assessment to support smaller companies and government authorities transition from animal testing to state-of-the-art non-animal methods, which are readily available and better at assuring human safety than the animal tests they replace.

“Te Protejo has been working for nine years to raise awareness and consciousness among citizens in relation to the cruelty that testing on animals involves. Recent polling illustrates that 72% of Chileans support the ban on animal testing. The support from deputies from the Health Commission could propel Chile to become the 41st country to ban animal testing in cosmetics in the world,” Nicole Valdebenito, director of communication and corporate affairs of NGO Te Protejo said.

Earlier this year HSI launched #SaveRalph, a stop-motion animated short film to raise awareness and secure support to end cosmetic animal testing in key beauty markets around the world. #SaveRalph generated awareness for cosmetic animal testing with over 4.5 million signatures worldwide and in 300,000 in Chile alone. The film has since been viewed over 150 million times and has caught the attention of policy makers around the world.

ENDS

Media Contacts:

• Aviva Vetter, the Humane Society of the United States: 514-975-9720; avetter@hsi.org
• Nicole Valdebenito, Te Protejo: +52 1 55 83944794; nicole@ongteprotejo.org