California might become the first state to ban all cosmetics that test their products on animals.
Sen. Cathleen Galigiana (D-Stockton) introduced a bill this week called the California Cruelty-Free Cosmetics Act, which would formally prohibit “any cosmetic manufacturer to knowingly import or sell any cosmetic, including personal hygiene products such as deodorant, shampoo, or conditioner, in California if the final product or any component of the product was tested on animals after Jan. 1, 2020.”
Any violators would be hit with a $500 fine for the first offense with every subsequent offense at $1,000.
The initiative is backed by LUSH Cosmetics, an England-based company known for its cruelty free cosmetics, and Cruelty Free International, an organization dedicated to ending animal testing across the world.
While not much formal legislation currently exists to limit animal testing, a lot of US-based cosmetics companies have already eliminated animal testing entirely. So this California legislation could really go one of two ways. It could be redundant to try and solve an issue that’s already been addressed, or it could prohibit even more business from entering the state. Really not a great move, no matter which way you slice it. The only people who are going to be happy if this legislation passes are the people at PETA. They’ve been lobbying for this type of legislation to get passed for years and list every company that tests on animals worldwide. In 2016, they spent over $50,000 million each year lobbying for various causes including “International Grassroots Campaigns” and “Public Outreach and Education.” This would be their Super Bowl if California finally got around to banning animal testing.
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