Although Animal testing is soon to be abolished in the EU, the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection is not ready to rest on its laurels. ECM talks to Michelle Thew, ceo of BUAV about her latest project
In the run up to the much anticipated REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals) legislation, the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV) is working with the industry to ensure that they are ready for the ban.
But Michelle Thew, ceo of BUAV, is still a woman with a mission. She aims to drive animal testing out of the cosmetics industry altogether and to this end is working to encourage companies to sign up to BUAV’s certification programme, the Humane Cosmetics Standard (HCS), or leaping bunny.
Thew has worked on the HCS since 1999 and in 2003 she travelled to the US to set up the programme there. Now, freshly returned from her travels, Thew’s goal is to extend the standard worldwide, starting with consolidating its position in Europe and then an ambitious agenda to roll out the leaping bunny logo to the world, via Asia. “We’ve been approached by Argentina and Hong Kong. We need to harmonise the standard internationally and are looking at a language and logo that can be used and understood internationally. The leaping bunny is already well recognised across Europe and the US.
“Animal testing is a really important issue for consumers,” explains Thew. “There is so much confusion over labelling for cruelty-free cosmetics.” Thew points to the myriad cruelty-free claims currently used by manufacturers; just because the manufacturer has not tested the end product on animals it doesn’t mean that animal testing hasn’t occurred somewhere along the supply chain, whether on the raw ingredients or formulas used in the product.
The HCS provides consumers with a guarantee that the product is cruelty-free across the board. When companies sign up to the standard they are not only promising that they don’t test and they don’t ask anyone else to test on their behalf, but they are also verifying that the products are not tested along the supply chain. BUAV requires that companies make a statement to this effect and also open up their supply chain to an independent audit.
“Animal testing is really important to consumers” |
Michelle Thew, BUAV |
The cost of signing up to the HCS is determined by the turnover of the product lines to be certified, though BUAV tries to accommodate the limited resources of smaller companies. The charge goes towards the auditing costs.
With the advent of the Cosmetics Directive (Directive 76/786 EEC), animal testing will be completely banned in all European Union Member States, but Thew is keen for companies to sign up ahead of this deadline. “The time has come to end animal testing and we are asking companies to respond before the legislation forces their hand. Some countries have imposed a voluntary ban already, such as the UK, but in other countries, China for example, it’s illegal not to test products on animals. What we’re saying is that there is a list of 8000 safe ingredients, so there’s no need to test on animals.”
As Thew explains, there is evidence of a gradual acceptance that companies need to become more socially responsible in order to keep their consumers loyal. “Consumers are asking more questions and are looking behind labels. It’s a very positive time. We very much hope that L’Oréal’s purchase of The Body Shop - the original standard bearer for the cruelty-free movement - signals a recognition that this isn’t a niche issue.”
With the growing popularity of private label, some major retailers have also signalled an interest in certification. “We’re just about to start a discussion with Whole Foods, working towards a situation where they only stock HCS certified products. That way consumers will know that they can buy anything from Whole Foods stores and it will be cruelty-free. We are also about to sign a major high street retailer in the UK and then the message will become absolutely clear. They are well-known for spending huge amounts on media and will no doubt promote their certification.”
Thew agrees that with all the various issues surrounding our consumer behaviour, surely it would be easier for both brands and consumers if the various certification organs worked together to come up with a clearer, co-operative labelling scheme. “The Soil Association contacted us recently and we have been in discussions with the Vegetarian Society. Work definitely needs to be done behind the scenes so that consumers have their expectations met and companies can protect their interests.”