Fifty years ago, it was difficult to envision a future where the safety of chemicals, including cosmetics and consumer products, could be assessed without animal testing. Thankfully, scientific advancements have significantly progressed, with 45 countries now banning cosmetic animal testing. This legislative shift has compelled the industry to fully adopt non-animal approaches for determining cosmetic safety. As this scientific transformation gained momentum, legislative prohibitions on animal testing further accelerated the adoption of modern, safe, non-animal testing methods.
Growing evidence indicates that non-animal approaches to chemical safety are surpassing the outdated animal-reliant system. Despite this progress, why does the safety assessment for consumer products, industrial chemicals, and pesticides continue to rely heavily on animal testing? While improvements are being made, considerable challenges still hinder the transition to animal-free safety testing.
Evidence is accumulating that non-animal approaches to chemical safety are outperforming the old animal-reliant system.
Legislative Evolution
Challenges arise when ingredients are utilized in both cosmetics and other contexts that fall under industrial chemical legislation requiring animal testing. Although several regions have introduced language aimed at minimizing animal testing in chemicals legislation—such as the EU under REACH and the US under the Toxic Substances Control Act—these regulations still demand specific animal data. Similar requirements are evident in pesticide legislation worldwide. To promote the use of non-animal methods, greater effort is necessary to enhance regulatory acceptance of flexible, integrated approaches to testing and assessment that combine various types of information to meet legislative data requirements.
To facilitate the use of non-animal methods, more effort is needed to improve the regulatory acceptance of flexible, integrated approaches.
In response to widespread public demand and European Parliament initiatives, the European Commission (EC) has committed to developing a roadmap aimed at phasing out animal testing in the chemical industry. Similar roadmaps are being developed in the US and Canada, all targeting a future where the use of animals in chemical safety assessments is minimal.
Building Confidence in New Approaches
The European Parliament has emphasized the “need for a sustained training and education effort to ensure the widest possible knowledge of alternatives and processes” to speed up animal-free scientific innovation. In October 2024, the second European Commission workshop on the roadmap for phasing out animal testing took place. Jay Ingram, the director of chemicals at Humane Society International, stated, “A key indicator of the success of the roadmap will be a paradigm shift in the field of regulatory safety assessment; reducing knowledge barriers while building confidence in Non-Animal Methods and Next Generation Risk Assessment is essential to ensure all stakeholders have the necessary tools and vocabulary to effect this paradigm change.”
The Animal-Free Safety Assessment Collaboration (AFSA) has assembled a global team of toxicology experts to create a free, online training course focused on the safety assessment of cosmetic products and ingredients without new animal data. The AFSA Master Class encompasses all aspects of the safety assessment process, from initial problem formulation to final assessment conclusion. It includes modules on consumer exposure, predictive chemistry, exposure-based waiving, dosimetry, internal exposure estimation, in vitro methods, and detailed case examples of complete assessments for 11 different problem formulations, including genotoxicity, phototoxicity, skin and eye irritation, dermal sensitization, and various long-term systemic effects. This master class aims to enhance the capacity to perform animal-free safety assessments of cosmetics and ingredients globally.
The course emphasizes that the non-animal approach to assessing safety is conceptually similar to the historical animal testing method. The main difference lies in the reliance on exposure estimations from the outset and throughout the assessment process. Additionally, the bioactivity estimation of the chemical integrates predictive and non-animal data in specific ways to address various regulatory concerns, rather than following a defined list of tests for each chemical.
Since the course’s launch, over 1,250 users from 76 different countries have enrolled, reflecting the rising global demand for training on cruelty-free testing methods. Registrants come from diverse professions and disciplines, including regulators, product manufacturers, contract research organizations, and academics, highlighting the universal need for change and the readiness to upskill across the board.
Since the course launched, over 1,250 users from 76 different countries have enrolled, demonstrating the growing global appetite for training on cruelty-free testing methods.
Maintaining the highest levels of human and environmental safety is paramount as we transition to animal-free methods. These methods typically require a rigorous validation process before being accepted for regulatory assessments. Furthermore, the overarching animal-free approach aims not to predict specific outcomes in animals, but rather to understand how chemicals can be safely utilized—”protection not prediction.” This modern approach tends to overestimate both human exposure and the bioactivity of an ingredient, thus ensuring that contemporary, animal-free methods are both protective and relevant to human health.
Dr. Julia H. Fentem, the global head of safety, environmental, and regulatory science at Unilever, asserts, “The safety of the cosmetics and personal care products that consumers use and trust every day is of utmost importance. Our unique AFSA Master Class program focuses on the safety assessment of cosmetic products and ingredients without generating new animal data, covering all aspects of using non-animal tools and data for internal decision-making and regulatory safety assessments.”
As society collectively aims for a safer and kinder future for people and the planet, the cosmetic and chemical sectors must evolve accordingly. We must equip toxicologists and regulatory assessors with the right tools and knowledge to fulfill the European Commission’s commitment—to eliminate cosmetic and chemical animal testing without jeopardizing human safety. We anticipate the continued growth of the AFSA Master Class and hope that this collaborative effort to disseminate knowledge will contribute to a broader shift toward a cruelty-free future in cosmetic and chemical safety testing.
Access all modules of the AFSA Master Class for free here.
As society collectively strives toward a safer and kinder future for people and the planet, the cosmetic and chemical sectors must keep pace.
