The Sunday Guardian

Beauty brand fights against animal testing

- PRIYA SINGH

The animal friendly beauty brand, The Body Shop, launches campaign against cosmetic testing on animals. It aims to ban cruelty against animals usually seen in cosmetic industry. This crusade called Forever Against Animal Testing (FAAT) looks to protect millions of animals from the ruthless plight across the globe by 2020.

FAAT emphasises on getting more and more signatures on the petition from India, so that this issue could be raised on a global level and then can be taken up to the highest authority, the United Nations (UN). It is likely that with the help of UN the cosmetic testing on animals might be stopped completely as The Body Shop will propose a law. This global law would be a ban animal testing in cosmetic products and ingredient­s. With an internatio­nal law enforced, consumers would finally be confident that any cosmetics they buy are cruelty free. FAAT proposes to get at least eight million signatures on the petition from different parts of the world.

The cruelty against animals is practised widely all around the world. Luckily India banned animal testing in 2013 but still around 80% of the countries yet exercise animal testing which makes it mandatory to raise such campaigns so that animals are no more prone to such a torture. Cruelty Free Internatio­nal, an animal protection and advocacy group, estimates that in some countries approximat­ely 500,000 animals are subjected to harmful ingredient­s present in cosmetics every year.

Speaking on the campaign, Jacqueline Fernandez, Brand Ambassador of The Body Shop India says, “Real beauty cannot be achieved at the cost of harming anyone especially animals. The concept of animal testing for cosmetic brands should be banned. A socially responsibl­e conglomera­te would prefer not to implement testing measures that prove hazardous to anyone’s health. That’s why I extend support to The Body Shop’s noble initiative to end this atrocious practise across this industry by launching a campaign to spread a global ban on animal testing of cosmetic products and ingredient­s. I request you all to sign the petition and save our animals.”

Shriti Malhotra, COO, The Body Shop India says, “We are pleased to say that India was the first country in South Asia to ban animal testing in 2013. The Body Shop is proud to be a cruelty free brand and a staunch supporter of effective, modern, non-animal alternativ­es to cosmetic animal testing. With FAAT we are asking our customers to help us end the unnecessar­y and out-dated practice of animal testing for good by signing the petition in our stores or on our website.”

It is required that owners of many cosmetic brands should be aware of the new technologi­es that are taking over the market day by day. This particular knowledge can actually be a respite to animals which have to face negative effects of cosmetic testing.

The Body Shop calls out to finish what they started in 1980’s which is the beginning of campaign to end animal testing in cosmetics. The petition can be signed online or at any of The Body Shop’s 3,000 stores across the world. Consumers are being encouraged to use the campaign hashtag, #ForeverAga­instAnimal­Testing, on social media to raise awareness on the issue.

 ??  ?? Actress Jacqueline Fernandez at the Body Shop’s event in New Delhi.
Actress Jacqueline Fernandez at the Body Shop’s event in New Delhi.
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