The campaign is urging these personal care giants to support the existing ban on testing cosmetics, their ingredients on animals in India and the proposed ban on the importation of animal-tested cosmetics.
According to PETA, the initiative follows high-level meetings in which the IBHA and some of its members “made clear that they are in favour of weakening the ban and continuing animal tests and/or are against the proposed ban on the importation of cosmetics whose ingredients or finished products were tested on animals.”
"Consumers have a choice when they go shopping, and most want to ensure that they are purchasing only brands that do not support cruelty to animals. Through our online campaign, we'll be getting consumers involved to urge these companies to modernise and to support, not obstruct, efforts to stop animal testing for cosmetics in India", says Poorva Joshipura, PETA India CEO.
Cosmetic companies are making efforts in animal testing alternatives though...
Contrary to PETA's comment, a vast amount of cosmetic companies have been speaking out against animal testing of late.
Around 1,400 beauty brands from different corners of the globe, including Lush and The Body Shop as well as the Indian companies Cosmoceuticals,Omved Lifestyle, Shahnaz Husain, Trumount, Future Skin,Vicco and others refuse to test their products on animals.
IBHA's own member Cholayil has already assured PETA India that it does not test on animals.
Following efforts by PETA, Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi and others, animal testing for cosmetics and their ingredients was banned by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, effective 21 May 2014, via a Gazette notification amending the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945.
The ministry also published a draft notification for a ban on the importation of cosmetics tested on animals abroad on 5 May 2014. Such a move would bring India in line with the European Union and Israel, which have already banned the marketing and sale of animal-tested cosmetics.
Israel has also banned the marketing and sale of animal-tested household products.