The European Commission has confirmed that its plans for its “Save Cruelty Free Cosmetics” roadmap will still go ahead in early 2026, to make the transition towards using new-approach methods (NAMs) to undertake chemical safety assessments.
The roadmap will lay out actions and recommendations to integrate the NAMs across 15 legislative areas that still rely on animal testing, including the much-discussed REACH Regulation.
The initiative is a huge step towards fully phasing out animal testing for chemicals and cosmetics in the EU, while ensuring safety standards via validated alternative approaches.
After the roadmap is released, the work to phase out animal testing will start immediately, however the EU was clear that expects progress to validate NAMs will take years, and will depend on both development and validation of the alternative methods.
The Executive Vice-President for Industrial Strategy, Stephane Séjourné, assured that while the Commission intends to stick to its commitments, the implementation of new rules “will require years, since progress will depend on the development and validation of such alternatives.”
Aiming for zero animal testing
In July 2023, the EU laid out its action plan to phase out animal testing in response to a European Citizen’s Initiative, ‘Save Cruelty-free Cosmetics’ that was presented to the European Parliament in January that year.
While there are a growing number of NAMs options, such as solutions offered by the Swedish firm SenzaGen, the EU has clearly said that it still expects the changes to take a long time.
However, it also said that it intended to eventually reach a regime of zero animal testing and aims to “integrate, where scientifically and legally feasible,” the new testing methodologies into the REACH regulation on chemicals.
Long overdue changes
In March this year, the CEO of NGO Cruelty Free International, Michelle Thew, said the changes were long overdue.
“It is shocking that we are still having to fight on behalf of animals in laboratories 12 years on from the ban on the sale of all cosmetics products tested on animals,” she said.
“Even more distressing is the fact that more and more animal testing is being required by regulators for ingredients in cosmetics, against the wishes of European consumers and cosmetics brands.”
“It is high time for Europe to evolve past cruel and outdated animal testing,” she concluded.