Animal Testing In The UK

Since 1998, all animal testing of cosmetics and cosmetic ingredients in the UK has been banned. Any animal testing was to be solely on the basis of the benefits of the testing outweighing the suffering which would be caused to animals, such as for medical applications.  

A recent case brought by the organisation Cruelty Free International (CFI) however has shone a light on the fact that since 2019, a ‘loophole’ has been made available by the UK government, to UK based organisations seeking to test cosmetic ingredients on animals. The ‘loophole’ is founded on cosmetic manufacturers’ badging their animal testing as a means to protect their manufacturing employees’ safety rather than as a means to ensure their cosmetics and cosmetic ingredients are safe for their customers to use. 

The UK government was heavily criticised by CFI for opening up the ‘loophole’ without giving visibility to the change in stance which this implied for cosmetics and cosmetic ingredients’ testing. One SPF ingredient, ‘homosalate’, used in some cosmetic manufacturers’ foundations and concealers has exploited the ‘loophole’ already and there will undoubtedly be more in the UK in the years to come. 

At Cosy Cottage, we will not be exploiting any loopholes. We remain committed to the safety of our manufacturing team and in parallel we remain committed to zero testing of our products or our ingredients on animals.  

Our commitments to our customers are: 

• We do not test our products or ingredients on animals 
• We do not commission other organisations to test products or ingredients on animals on our behalf 
• We do not export to jurisdictions which require animal testing of cosmetics as a prerequisite to market entry 
• We do not seek to leverage new, synthetic, unproven and potentially harmful ingredients which require animal testing 

We prefer to base our products on the natural and effective properties of established staples such as shea butter, coconut oil, aloe vera and latterly locally harvested seaweed, sea salt and goats milk.

All of our products are 100% cruelty free. They are also free from palm oil, parabens, sulphates and single-use plastic.

Sources: The BBC , The Guardian