Another Victory! India to Ban Animal Testing on All Imported Cosmetics

In June of this year, India joined the European Union on an all out ban of animal testing for cosmetics.

Drug Controller General of India, G N Singh said, “Keeping in view the cruelty towards animals involved, the testing of cosmetics on animals will now not be allowed in the country.”

It was a momentous occasion and one that we hope other countries soon follow through with as cosmetics testing on animals is completely unnecessary due to the vast amount of ingredients already approved for use in cosmetics and the cruelty that such testing inflicts upon animals is unacceptable.

Now, according to The Hindu Business Line, India’s Health Ministry has been advised by the Drug Technical Advisory Board (DTAB) to introduce a provision in the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules to ban the import of cosmetics tested on animals. Even companies seem to be on board with the proposed provision — woohoo!

Deepak Bhandari, marketing director with U.S.-based cosmetics company Revlon Inc. said, “The move is more towards creating consciousness about animal testing by certain groups. At Revlon, 35 percent of our cosmetics are imported and we do not believe animal testing is ethical and is not a part of our business philosophy.”

The provision is expected to pass soon, which means that in no time India will have a complete ban on all animal tested cosmetics in the country — from importation to in-country production.

This huge step forward joins the list of other great accomplishments for India this year including the phase out of animal dissection in universities, which will save an estimated 19 million animal lives per year, and the country’s recent ban the use of elephants in circuses.

Keep up the great work, India!

Image Source: Richard Schatzberger/Flickr