Bollywood actor Jacqueline Fernandez loves animals so much so that the actor is urging people to sign a petition for a global ban on animal testing of cosmetics and ingredients.
Jacqueline Fernandez | Reuters
“Real beauty cannot be achieved at the cost of harming anyone especially animals. The concept of animal testing for cosmetic brands should be banned,” says the actor, who has joined hands with cosmetic brand The Body Shop for a campaign titled Forever Against Animal Testing' (FAAT) for a global ban on cosmetics animal testing on products and ingredients by 2020.
“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 practice 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,” adds the actor.
Aiming to take the campaign to the highest authority, the United Nations, and request an international convention banning cosmetics testing on animals, The Body Shop has partnered with a leading non-profit organization working to end animal testing, Cruelty Free International, for the campaign.
Shriti Malhotra, COO, The Body Shop India says, "India was the first country in South Asia to ban Animal Testing in 2013. We are proud to be a cruelty free brand and a staunch supporter of effective, modern, non-animal alternatives to cosmetic animal testing. With our campaign 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."
Rules on animal testing in cosmetics are currently patchwork, with legislation differing around the world leaving consumers ill informed. Traditional animal tests have never been validated for their use in reliably detecting the safety of cosmetic products and ingredients. There are now modern alternatives such as artificially grown human skin, that are, in the majority of cases, as effective as the animal test they replace and have been validated by authorities, he adds.
