The agency responsible for overseeing the safety of cosmetics is the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) by the enforcement of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act). The FDA is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, whose website, under "Animal Testing" (May 31, 1999; Updated April 5, 2006), states: "The FD&C Act does not specifically require the use of animals in testing cosmetics for safety, nor does the Act subject cosmetics to FDA premarket approval." Therefore, it is not necessary that these products undergo animal testing whatsoever.
Further the website states that the "FDA supports the development and use of alternatives to whole-animal testing as well as adherence to the most humane methods available within the limits of scientific capability when animals are used for testing the safety of cosmetic products. We will continue to be a strong advocate of methodologies for the refinement, reduction, and replacement of animal tests with alternative methodologies that do not employ the use of animals." As a society we need to move away from animal testing, especially on cosmetic items, and find humane alternatives.
In 1996 the Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics (CCIC) was established, which is a group of national animal protection groups that maintains a certification for products free of animal testing. The CCIC consists of several groups, including but not limited to The American Anti-Vivisection Society, the American Humane Association, and the Animal Protection Institute. At their website a copy of the Compassionate Shopping Guide can be obtained, which has an up-to-date list of all companies that do not engage in animal testing. PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) also produces a Cruelty-Free Shopping Guide of companies that do not test their products on animals.
The majority of the major brand name companies do test their products on animals. Below is a list of the parent company, followed by the brands that each manufactures. Also listed is that company's contact information. Contact the companies to express a dislike of testing on animals.
PO Box 599
Cincinatti, OH 45201
- Always
- Aussie
- Cover Girl
- Crest
- Downy
- Eukanuba
- Febreze
- Gillette
- Head and Shoulders
- Iams
- Infusion 23
- Ivory
- Joy
- Mr. Clean
- Max Factor
- Oil of Olay
- Old Spice
- Pantene
- Pampers
- Physique
- Puffs
- Secret
- Scope
- Swiffer
- Tide
- Zest
625 Madison Ave.
New York, NY 10022
- Almay
- Charlie
- Fire & Ice
- Flex
- Mitchum
- Revlon
1525 Howe St.
Racine, WI 53403
- Drano
- Edge
- Fantastik
- Glade
- Off
- Pledge
- Raid
- Scrubbing Bubbles
- Shout
- Skintimates
- Windex
- Ziplock
41 rue Martre
92117 Clichy
France
- Biotherm
- Garnier
- Giorgio Armani
- Helena Rubenstein
- Lancom
- Matrix
- Maybelline
- Ralph Lauren
- Redken
- Vichy Laboratories
1 Johnson & Johnson Plaza
New Brunswick, NJ 08933
- Aveeno
- Clean and Clear
- Listerine
- Lubriderm
- Neutrogena
- Rembrandt
- RoC
15501 N. Dial Blvd.
Scottsdale, AZ 85260
- Dry Idea
- Freeman Cosmetics
- Nature's Accents
- Renuzit
- Right Guard
- Sarah Michaels
- Soft and Dri
- Soft Scrub
300 Park Ave.
New York, NY 10022
- Ajax
- Colgate
- Palmolive
- Protex
- Speed Stick
2600 Huntington Dr.
Fairfield, CA 94533-9736
- Armorall
- Formula 409
- Fresh Step
- Glad
- Liquid Plumber
- Pine-Sol
- S.O.S.
- Tilex
Church and Dwight
469 N. Harrison St.
Princeton, NJ 08543-5297
- Aim
- Arm and Hammer
- Arid
- Close-Up
- Kaboom
- Mentadent
- Nair
- OxiClean
- Pearl Drops
PO Box 68
Unilever House, Blackfriars
London
EC4P 4BQ
United Kingdom
- Axe
- Dove
- Lux
- Pond's
- Signal
- Sunsilk
- Vaseline
By no means is this list comprehensive of all companies that test on animals. Before you buy, check out the product at one of the above mentioned sites.
See Easy Ways to Avoid Using Products Tested on Animals.
Sara Wittenberg - My passion for wildlife and environmental ed led me to obtain my BS in zoology and MS in biology.
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