Which countries ban cosmetic animal testing?

What do the EU, UK and Norway ban?

The EU has two bans, now in Regulation 1223/2009. The testing ban stopped animal tests of finished cosmetics from 11 September 2004 and of ingredients from 11 March 2009. The marketing ban stops the sale in the EU of cosmetics and ingredients tested on animals: it took effect on 11 March 2009 for most health effects and on 11 March 2013 for the last three, including reproductive toxicity, according to the European Commission.

Norway applies the same rules as an EEA country. Its food safety authority, Mattilsynet, says that in the EU and Norway it is forbidden to produce, import or sell cosmetics tested on animals, and that the ban also covers ingredients used only in cosmetics.

In the UK, the government says testing cosmetics and their ingredients on animals for consumer safety has been banned since 1998, and the UK’s version of Article 18 of Regulation 1223/2009 bans both testing in the UK and selling products tested to meet its rules. On 17 May 2023 the Home Office added that no new licences would be granted to test chemicals used exclusively as cosmetic ingredients.

Which countries in Asia ban cosmetic animal testing?

South Korea’s Cosmetics Act has barred responsible sellers from distributing animal-tested cosmetics, or cosmetics made with animal-tested ingredients, since February 2017. Exceptions include setting limits for restricted ingredients such as preservatives and UV filters, cases with no recognised alternative, and testing required by an export market; our Korean sunscreen rules guide has more.

India’s Cosmetics Rules 2020 say no person may use animals to test cosmetics (Rule 39) and that no cosmetic tested on animals after 12 November 2014 may be imported (Rule 18). Applicants for import registration must also undertake that no cosmetic they make that has been tested on animals will be imported into India.

Does China still require animal testing for cosmetics?

China has no outright ban, but it has removed the requirement for many products. Since 1 May 2021, a general cosmetic can be filed without toxicology test reports, the documents that used to mean animal tests, if its manufacturer holds a government-issued quality-management certificate and the safety assessment fully confirms the product is safe. Products for children, products with new ingredients still under monitoring and companies under key supervision are excluded.

A notice of 29 July 2026 (NMPA Announcement 2026 No. 70) extended the waiver to perms, non-oxidative hair dyes, whitening or spot products that only cover the skin, and general cosmetics with new ingredients, but not products for children. Sunscreens are not on that list. See our guide to China’s cosmetics rules.

Which countries in the Americas and Oceania ban cosmetic animal testing?

Colombia’s Law 2047 of 2020 bans the testing, import, export, manufacture and sale of cosmetics, or their ingredients, tested on animals after it took effect on 10 August 2024. It exempts ingredients that need safety tests for health or environmental risks where no validated alternative exists, and animal data generated for non-cosmetic purposes.

Canada’s ban, part of its Food and Drugs Act, took effect on 22 December 2023. Health Canada says it bars cosmetic animal testing in Canada, and the sale of cosmetics whose safety relies on animal testing data, with some exceptions; products already on sale may keep relying on existing data.

Australia’s Industrial Chemicals Act 2019 takes a narrower route: for chemicals introduced solely for use in cosmetics, data from animal tests conducted on or after 1 July 2020 may not be used, in circumstances set by the rules.

Does a cosmetic animal-testing ban mean a product is cruelty-free?

Not necessarily. Norway’s Mattilsynet points out that products can rely on animal tests done before the bans, and that many cosmetic ingredients also have other uses, in medicines or household products for example, where animal testing is allowed. Chemicals law can also require tests on ingredients to protect workers and the environment, which is the gap the UK’s 2023 licensing ban addressed for cosmetic-only chemicals.