Household products and animal testing
You’d be forgiven for thinking household product testing on animals had ended in Britain. But ingredients that end up in your everyday products could still have been tested on animals.
In November 2015, the UK government implemented a policy ban on the testing of household products on animals.
The ban was a culmination of a 2010 coalition government pledge to end the testing of household products and their ingredients on animals. This followed decades of campaigning to end the unnecessary use of animals in consumer product testing.
But the policy only served to ban the testing of finished household products on animals. The individual chemical ingredients that make up the content of those products can still be legally tested on animals to satisfy other regulatory requirements. Shockingly, even if there is no regulatory requirement, exceptions can also be made on a case by case basis. Plus, there is no ban on selling household products tested on animals elsewhere in the world within the UK.
We desperately need a proper household product testing ban.
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What is a ‘household product' anyway?
Under the 2015 policy ban, ‘household products’ are defined as:
…those bought by the general public for use in the domestic home and garden. They include, but are not limited to, detergents, polishes and cleaning products, laundry products, household cleaners, air fresheners, toilet cleaners, descalants, deodorisers, adhesives, paints and varnishes, sealants, caulks and other decorating materials.
However, this definition does not apply to these kinds of product, some of which are commonly used in the home and garden:
- Biocides, pesticides and plant protection products.
- Food contact materials, food and feeding stuffs, medical products and medical devices.
- Cosmetics (as they are subject to other restrictions on the use of animal testing).
- Products intended to be used in an industrial or institutional setting or by professionals; and,
- Packaging or delivery systems e.g. pump sprays etc., unless these are inherent parts of the household product.
Taken from Advice Note 01/2015: Policy on Testing Household Products.
Which household product companies commission animal testing?
We’re not allowed to know.
The names of the household product companies that commission animal testing are protected.
That means you could have a product containing ingredients recently tested on animals in your cupboard now, but the government doesn’t believe you have a right to know about it.
You’re expected to trust the word of the companies that want you to buy their products, instead of being given the facts.
What kinds of tests are carried out on animals?
Chemical regulations called REACH aim to protect human health and the environment by ensuring that chemicals on the market are thoroughly tested and assessed, including substances that end up in everyday products. However, a significant aspect of REACH involves the use of animal testing. Common animal tests include:
All of these tests cause pain and suffering to animals. Of course, we all want the ingredients in the products we use to be safe. But how can we justify causing such cruelty? Replacing safety tests with non-animal methods must happen.
How many animals are we talking about?
Government statistics published in June 2022 state that in 2021, there were twenty-four experiments on rats to test household product ingredients.
It’s shocking that we’re testing any household ingredients on animals in this day and age.
But, that’s only part of the story. Those figures only tell us about ingredients used “primarily” in household products. If an ingredient is mainly used in other kinds of product – but also makes its way into household products – it could still be tested on animals. For this set of circumstances, we just don’t have accurate numbers. But what we do know is that thousands of chemical tests are carried out on animals in the UK each year.
This complicated picture makes it really difficult for people to know if the everyday products they use in their homes are cruelty-free or not – that’s why our Compassionate Shopping Guide is so important. Great progress has been made with cleaning products, but there’s still a long way to go to make the wide range of products we all use in our homes cruelty-free.
That’s why we’re calling for the household product testing ban to be reformed and why we’ll continue to press for wholesale replacement of using animals in chemical testing using non-animal methods. If you agree we need a proper household testing ban, sign the petition here.
How can I avoid household products that have been tested on animals?
Compassionate Shopping Guide
The best way to be confident your household products are cruelty-free is to use our Compassionate Shopping Guide. It contains lots of great personal care and household brands that all have zero ties to animal testing.
Visit compassionateshoppingguide.org today to start your search.
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