California lawmakers pass bill banning sale of cosmetics tested on animals

Lawmakers in California have passed a bill banning the sale of cosmetics that were developed through animal testing, making it the first state in the U.S. to ban such products.

The bill now heads to California Gov. Jerry Brown (D), who is expected to sign it. Lawmakers passed the bill last Friday, according to the Los Angeles Times, after the legislature was inundated with calls from California residents and celebrities urging the bill’s passage.

{mosads} Lawmakers passed the bill after it was narrowed in scope to only affect products in which animal testing is a direct part of the supply chain, the newspaper reported.

Legislators will also allow exceptions for products that needed to comply with Food and Drug Administration or foreign agency requirements.

“The supply-chain focus has helped to remove the majority of significant opposition,” the bill’s author state Sen. Cathleen Galgiani (D) told the L.A. Times.

The final version of the bill had widespread support including from an industry group, the Personal Care Products Council, which had opposed a previous version of the ban.

Products for which exceptions are made can be sold in California under the bill, according to the Times, but cannot use evidence from animal testing to prove their products are safe for use in the state.

Supporters of the bill told the Times that California’s leadership on the issue would drive other states and countries to follow suit and ban animal testing for cosmetics.

“I think it’s a huge statement that we’re making as a state, and given the size of our market I’m hoping that it will move the global conversation on the use of animals in testing for cosmetics,” Assemblyman Ash Kalra (D) told the Times.