Beginning in 2020, the sale of any cosmetics tested on animals will be illegal in the state of California, if SB1249 is signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown. While the bill may not go into effect for a couple of years if passed, it serves as a “warning” to brands that currently test their products on animals — if they want to continue to sell to Californians, they have to make some adjustments in how they create their cosmetics and the method by which they test them.
The California Cruelty Free Cosmetics Act was introduced to lawmakers in February and was passed by California senators on Friday, August 31. Not only will this bill make it illegal to sell products tested on animals, but it also bans products that include any components tested on an animal at any point in the manufacturing and testing process. It has to get Governor Jerry Brown’s ultimate approval, but the initial passing through state legislature sends a big and impactful message to cosmetic companies — stop testing on animals or potentially lose sales and customers.
No other U.S. state has passed a bill banning cosmetic animal testing, but individual companies do have the liberty to decide if animal testing is something they do or do not believe in. The FDA doesn’t require companies to test on animals. However, it’s mind blowing how many cosmetic brands still test their products on animals. If passed, the California Cruelty Free Cosmetics Act will provide customers with transparency when shopping for cosmetics, rather than having them comb through symbols and ingredients on the back of cosmetic labels.
It’s simply time for the U.S. to get on board with more humane practices that have actually allowed cruelty-free companies to flourish, rather than suffer. The E.U. enacted a similar law more than five years ago, and their beauty industry is still thriving. Their beauty-loving citizens are still happy and still buying lots of cosmetics, but not at the cost of an innocent animal.
To put things further into perspective, more than 40 entire countries have banned cosmetic testing on animals. At this point, it seems like a no-brainer. However, the FDA hasn’t given us much hope that a widespread ban like that would happen. While they certainly don’t require companies to test their cosmetics on animals, they do "advise cosmetic manufacturers to employ whatever testing is appropriate and effective for substantiating the safety of their products."
Knowing that, and considering that many of us don’t live in California, what can we do move the needle? We can stop buying cosmetics that test their products on animals. There are alternative methods to testing products and hundreds of companies are choosing those methods over animal testing, including us, Nurture My Body!
When you shop Nurture My Body, you can be confident in knowing that you’re choosing products that are all-natural and totally cruelty-free. Our products are sourced from a permaculture farm in Northern California, so we stand behind this bill 110%!