This was one of the responses to the “Save cruelty-free cosmetics” ECI validated in early 2023. The European Commission undertook to launch a roadmap to reduce animal testing in the safety assessment of chemical substances. It has just launched a consultation on this subject.
Backed by more than a million citizens across the European Union, the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) “Save cruelty-free cosmetics - Commit to a Europe without animal testing” was validated by the European Commission in January 2023.
In its response, the Commission undertook in particular to “immediately launch the work to develop a roadmap that will outline milestones and specific actions, to be implemented in the short to longer term, to reduce animal testing and that would be pre-requisites for a transition towards an animal-free regulatory system under relevant pieces of chemical legislation (e.g. REACH, Biocidal Product Regulation, Plant Protection Products Regulation and human and veterinary medicines)”.
This is the purpose of this call for contributions, which opened on 17 September 2024 and will close on 15 October 2024. And even if Cosmetics Regulation 1223/2009 is not directly concerned, since it already sets out a ban on animal testing of ingredients and products, we know the extent to which the subject remains of interest to the cosmetics industry.
The consultation
In presenting this initiative, the Commission affirms the ultimate aim of its roadmap: the transition to an animal-free regulatory system under relevant pieces of chemical legislation.
It also points out …