Media Advisory - Senate committee examines cruelty-free cosmetics bill
TORONTO, Sept. 27, 2017 /CNW/ - The Cruelty-Free Cosmetics Act will be examined by the Senate Standing Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology tomorrow. The bill's sponsor, Senator Carolyn Stewart Olsen, and representatives from Humane Society International will speak to its importance in Canada and in the global cruelty-free products movement.
Bill S-214 would prohibit cosmetic animal testing in Canada and the sale of cosmetic products or ingredients that have been newly tested elsewhere in the world. Senator Stewart Olsen spearheaded the legislation in consultation with Humane Society International/Canada and Animal Alliance of Canada as part of the largest campaign in history to end cosmetics animal testing and trade globally, #BeCrueltyFree.
WHAT: Senate Standing Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology: Bill S-214, An Act to amend the Food and Drugs Act (cruelty-free cosmetics).
WHEN: Thursday, Sept. 28, 2017 at 10:30 a.m. EDT.
WHERE: Room 2, Victoria Building, Ottawa, Ontario.
WHO: Troy Seidle, Senior Director, Research & Toxicology Department ? Humane Society International.
Facts:
- The Food and Drugs Act requires that all cosmetics sold in Canada be safe when used as intended, but does not specifically require animal testing to substantiate safety.
- Thirty-seven countries and major markets have already passed laws to end or limit cosmetic animal testing and/or sales, including the 28 member countries of the European Union, India, Israel, New Zealand, Norway, South Korea, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey and Guatemala.
- According to polling by The Strategic Counsel of behalf of Animal Alliance and HSI, 88 percent of Canadians agree that testing new cosmetics is not worth animal suffering, and 81 percent of Canadians support a national ban on animal testing of cosmetics and their ingredients.
- More than 110,000 Canadians have signed HSI's #BeCrueltyFree petition to date.
- More than 600 cosmetic companies are certified "cruelty-free" in North America, avoiding animal testing by relying on thousands of existing ingredients already established as safe.
- A growing number of alternatives to animal testing have been developed with financial support from governments and industry, and accepted by regulatory authorities. Examples include human cell-based models for skin and eye irritation, skin allergy, skin absorption, genetic toxicity and sunlight-induced "phototoxicity".
SOURCE Animal Alliance of Canada
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