NEW DELHI, India — In a historic move for the beauty industry in India a ban on the import of cosmetics tested on animals will go into effect Thursday.
This is expected to change the way beauty brands function in India, and also act like an example for neighboring countries.
A similar ban is already in place in the European Union, U.S., Brazil, New Zealand, Israel and other countries, but India is the first in South Asia to make this move.
The new rule, called 135 B, is an addition to the Drugs and Cosmetics Act of 1945, states that “import of cosmetics tested on animals is prohibited….No cosmetic that has been tested on animals after the commencement of the Drugs and Cosmetics (Fifth Amendment) Rules, 2014 shall be imported into the country.”
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It follows an amendment made in May this year, rule 148 C of the same act, in which a ban on cosmetics tested on animals within India marked a victory for campaigners for animal rights who have relentlessly pressed their point over the past years.
“There is a lot to celebrate,” Dr. Chaitanya Koduri, Science Policy Adviser, PETA told WWD. “It was not a victory easily won. We put in a lot of work to make it happen and there was rigorous campaigning from 2012 to 2014 through members of parliament and well-known politicians, through scientific panels, and separately through celebrity programs. We did celebrity advertisements, demonstrations, signed petitions from celebrities; Bollywood actress Jacqueline Fernandez sent the health minister a vegan cake, saying ‘be kind to bunnies.’”
Bollywood stars such as John Abraham, Sonakshi Sinha, Dia Mirza, Alia Bhatt have been drawing attention to the cause and garnering attention by working along with PETA. Support from the international community poured into this process as well. In a letter to the health minister Harsh Vardhan, this August, Pamela Anderson, wrote that India’s ‘reverence for animals is one thing which has inspired me to incorporate compassion for animals into my own daily life and, after I came to India to appear on Bigg Boss, I adopted a desi dog whom I call Pyari’ [which means dear one]. She urged the health minister to act with a similar compassion.
However, the rule has left many in the beauty industry in India baffled.
The Indian Beauty & Hygiene Association, a trade association representing the beauty and personal-care companies, met frequently with the government regulatory committees, and was reportedly vocal in its stand against the ban. Representatives of both global and local brands, who spoke not for attribution, said that they were ‘unsure about how this could translate into reality in such a short time.’
Beauty companies that PETA India lists on its Web site as companies that do test on animals and specify that ‘companies on this list might manufacture individual lines of products without animal testing. They have not, however, eliminated animal testing from their entire line of cosmetics, personal-care products or household products.’ These include brands such as Avon, Garnier, Axe, Head & Shoulders, Gucci fragrances, Maybelline and a slew of others.
Although some brands from the L’Oréal group are on the PETA list, L’Oréal managing director Jean-Christophe Letellier, said that the company has not done animal testing for the last 15 years.
“We agree with the intent, of course, but it took 10 years and more for Europe to establish that. It cannot be done overnight!” he said.
“The only thing we know is that you need a very strong system because what matters most is the safety of the products for consumers. Not every single company would have the same standard of safety. It is true that if there is no animal testing, you need to have sophisticated and robust alternative methods to this testing, like L’Oréal does,” Letellier said, citing the Episkin, a subsidiary of the group that is dedicated to the development of reconstructed skin as an example of the change that is taking place.
“We are very advanced as a company, but as far as the country is concerned it is very important that this is not done too lightly. The new testing needs to be recognized by the scientific community. We have to protect the consumer first,” Letellier said.
While many Indian beauty companies do not declare their own position and testing procedures, industry analysts are concerned that instead of promoting more scientific methods of testing, as Dr. Chaitanya believes will emerge, there could be a far larger number of smaller companies that will test directly on consumers.
“There are so many questions,” Letellier said.
“The text is also too light for such a sophisticated element. The discussions between the cosmetics association, the industry association and the regulations are aimed at finding the road map, so it doesn’t harm the capability of innovation and always protects first the consumer. The idea is first to protect and ensure to have the have safest product on the market,” he said.
Speaking separately about their own concerns about safety, Dr. Chaitanya said that PETA was working with the technical advisory board to make sure that the safety of cosmetics remain a focus. “We also have confirmation that at the level of state drug controllers this will be properly implemented,” he said.
“It is an ethical choice that they must make,” Dr. Chaitanya continued, “one in which science will triumph further as companies invest in alternative methods.”