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LUSH IS AGAINST ANIMAL TESTING
Lush's Policy Lush are firmly committed to a policy which not only precludes testing its products and ingredients on animals, or engaging with third-party suppliers to do so on their behalf, but we will also not buy any ingredient from any supplier that tests any of its materials on any animals for any purpose. This policy is unique in its field and is pioneering a new way to stop animal tests for cosmetics. Lush runs its own Supplier Specific Boycott Policy. There are clear benefits to this policy, which is different and distinct from the Fixed Cut-off Date policy employed by the Humane Cosmetics Standard.   REACH OUT OR THE BUNNY GETS IT! For decades animal testing for cosmetics was a hot playground topic. It was an issue that effected many people, from those who rallied in London, to parent who bought cruelty free products for their family, every youngster who listened to a talk about the cruelty of animal tests and anyone who read the leaflets handed out by the campaigners every Saturday in our local town centers. We all thought it had come to an end when Tony Blair stood up in the House of Commons in 1998 and told us that no more tests would be carried out on animals for cosmetics. Once then we got on with our lives safe in the knowledge that we had done something worthwhile. No more guinea pigs choking to death after being force-fed shampoo and no more rabbits going blind from having mascara dripped into their eyes. Until now. Now we find that against our collective will, and against 7th amendment to the Cosmetic Directive that banned animal testing for cosmetics ingredients from 11th March 2009, that we have a new piece of super legislation handed down from Brussels, the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH). The aims of REACH, safe chemicals for all, are laudable however the reality is different. This piece of legislation is so complicated that even those industries who are supposed to be governed by it don't fully understand it, nor do the eurocrats who have to enforce it. Under REACH many more animal tests will take place as the scientists try to work out which chemicals can harm us. In amongst all this testing will be most of the ingredients used to make cosmetics and toiletries. There is still a great deal of uncertainty over how the Cosmetics Directive, which is supposed to ban animal testing cosmetic ingredients, will hold up under REACH, which requires animal test data for those same ingredients – and it seems only a legal challenge will sort out which of these conflicting pieces of legislation will prevail. At this time no one in the European Chemicals Agency or the Cosmetic Industry can tell if ingredients tested on animals under REACH will be allowed to be used in cosmetics. If they are allowed then there are no truly cruelty-free cosmetics any more and our rights as conscientious consumers have been trampled on. Or, if these ingredients are not allowed then most of our cosmetics and toiletries will disappear from our shelves as the ingredients they are made from will be banned for use in cosmetics. Animal testing
is Victorian technology and no one benefits from
using it. Animal tests don’t give us safe
chemicals or safe products to use and they
certainly don’t do anything for the millions, yes
literally millions, of animals who will be killed. 
WE NEED YOUR HELP! We’ve been wrestling with the complexities of REACH and animal testing for years, and to be honest we’re a bit stuck. We’ve tried everything we can to ensure that we are not forced to contribute to any animal testing, from petitioning parliament to direct action, but REACH is barrelling ahead without much public awareness and our ingredients suppliers may be forced to contribute to animal tests by law. We would love to hear from you, to get your ideas for action, whether it’s something we can all do as individuals, a campaign for our stores or a public protest. Come on, let’s get active! |
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