California takes another step towards ending the sale of animal tested cosmetics
This week California took a big step towards becoming the first state in the US to become a cruelty-free cosmetics zone, as the California Cruelty Free Cosmetics Act passed the Senate. Alongside other groups, we backed Senator Cathleen Galgiani’s bill that will phase-out the sale of animal-tested cosmetics in the state by January 2020. The bill will now be considered in the California Assembly.
Monica Engebretson, North America Campaign Manager for Cruelty Free International, said: “As the 5th largest economy in the world, and with a population greater than Canada, California’s steps toward ending the sale of animal-tested cosmetics make it a leading light in the cosmetics industry.”
California has a long history of leading on the issue of animal-tested cosmetics in the USA, with then Assembly Member Jack O’Connell taking the first (sadly unsuccessful) steps in 1989 and 1990. In 2000, now a Senator, he successfully brought about a ban on manufacturers and testing facilities being allowed to test on animals when reliable non-animal alternatives are available. Then, in 2014, Senator Marty Block with our support introduced the Cruelty Free Cosmetics Resolution, urging Congress to phase out the sale of animal-tested cosmetics. Four years later, Senator Cathleen Galgiani’s California Cruelty Free Cosmetics Act, won its vote in the Senate.
California is now the 3rd state, alongside New York and Hawaii, to introduce legislation aimed at ending the sale of animal-tested cosmetics.
