California could soon become the first state to ban cosmetics made with animal testing.
California’s Cruelty-Free Act would ban cosmetics that test on animals. That includes eyeshadow, lipstick, shampoo, hairspray, and much more.
The bill unanimously passed the state Legislature with an 80-0 vote in the Assembly and now awaits Governor Jerry Brown’s approval.
According to the bill, any ingredients or final cosmetics products tested on animals on or after Jan. 1, 2020, could come with a $5,000 fine for the manufacturer if sold in California. After that, companies would be charged $1,000 per day they are in violation.
Elizabeth Baker of the Physician’s Committee for Responsible Medicine says the bill applies to manufacturers, suppliers of ingredients and third parties.
"It does not pull anything off of the shelves, so your favorite shampoos that you use today, even if it were tested on animals, it will remain on the shelves after 2020,” said Baker.
Instead, it’s focused on future testing and using alternative methods.
Estee Lauder opposed the bill at first, although some of its products are cruelty-free, according to its website.
California would join the European Union, Norway, India, New Zealand and other countries in putting bans on animal testing.
‘It’s for the better good and maybe their products won’t be sold here but maybe it will change the way that they do their products and then they can be sold here. So maybe it’s more of an encouragement to look at how they are doing their products,” said Laura Takken, San Luis Obispo resident.
There are some exceptions to the bill. Companies would be allowed to test on animals if they are trying to sell the product in another country that requires animal testing, like China. It could still be sold in California since it is meeting a foreign requirement.
Gov. Brown has until the end of this month to sign the bill.
