Personal Care Products Industry Shares Goal with Governor Brown to Protect Consumer & Animal Welfare in California
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Lisa Powers, (202) 466-0489, powersl@personalcarecouncil.org
Jewel Jones, (202) 454-0302, jonesj@personalcarecouncil.org
Washington, D.C. – The Personal Care Products Council (PCPC) appreciates Governor Brown’s signing of Senate Bill 1249 (Galgiani), the California Cruelty-Free Cosmetics Act – another step forward in product safety testing that considers consumer protection and animal welfare.
“On behalf of the 415,000 Californians employed by the personal care products industry and our coalition of health, labor, science, and business organizations, we thank Governor Brown for signing this important bill into law. The California Cruelty-Free Cosmetics Act is pragmatic legislation that balances animal welfare, regulatory requirements, and decades of science,” said Lezlee Westine, President and CEO of the Personal Care Products Council.
SB 1249 bans the sale of personal care products developed using animal testing by the manufacturer or their direct suppliers after January 1, 2020. The bill makes important exemptions, including for products and ingredients already available for sale in California, for example, or those that need to comply with U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or foreign governments’ testing requirements.
“The Personal Care Products Council and its member companies have worked with policy makers to achieve regulatory and scientific advancements that will move the world closer to eliminating the need for animals in product safety testing. For nearly four decades, both in the U.S. and globally, our companies have been at the forefront of the movement to develop viable alternative safety assessment methods, and we will continue to work towards this important charge,” Westine added.
When advocating for this legislation that advances animal welfare without sacrificing jobs and public health, PCPC was joined by a broad coalition, which included the United Food & Commercial Workers, California Retailers Association, California Chamber of Commerce, California Teamsters Public Affairs Council, California Manufacturers & Technology Association, the Congress of California Seniors, and the California Life Sciences Association, among many others.
Governor Brown’s signature on the final version of the California Cruelty-Free Cosmetics Act achieves critical goals to:
- Keep existing products on California’s shelves by applying the law only to new products and ingredients that come to market after January 1, 2020;
- Protect public health by making select exemptions for products that undergo animal testing mandated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or other regulators;
- Hold personal care products manufacturers accountable for ensuring animal testing is not performed by their direct suppliers;
- Allow California companies to continue operating in international markets;
- Protect 415,000 California jobs in the personal care products industry; and
- Allow Californians to continue using the personal care products they rely on every day.
The full text of the bill can be found here.
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Based in Washington, D.C., the Personal Care Products Council (PCPC) is the leading national trade association representing global cosmetics and personal care products companies. Founded in 1894, PCPC’s approximately 600 member companies manufacture, distribute and supply the vast majority of finished personal care products marketed in the U.S. As the makers of a diverse range of products millions of consumers rely on and trust every day – from sunscreens, toothpaste and shampoo to moisturizer, lipstick and fragrance – personal care products companies are global leaders committed to product safety, quality and innovation.