Maryland Set to Become Fifth State to Ban Cosmetic Animal Testing

The Maryland State Legislature just voted to pass new legislation that would ban the testing of cosmetics on animals across the state. The new legislation, called Prohibition on Testing Cosmetics on Animals (PTCA), would come into effect on January 1, 2022 and bans both the sale of cosmetics tested on animals and the contracting of entities to test cosmetics that are in development on animals. It also bans animal testing for individual ingredients and third-party manufacturers. PTCA is now headed to Maryland Governor Larry Hogan for signature and if passed, would make Maryland the fifth state to pass a cosmetic animal testing ban. 

“No lipstick or mascara is worth the suffering of animals in laboratories,” Jennifer Bevan-Dangel, Maryland State Director for the Humane Society of the United States, said. “With thousands of safe ingredients already on the market and better research methods that don’t use rabbits or mice, our state has put another nail in the coffin that is animal-testing for cosmetics.”

Banning cosmetic animal testing nationwide

In March, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam signed the Virginia Humane Cosmetics Act (VHCA) into law—making Virgina the fourth state to pass an animal cosmetic testing ban following California, Illinois, and Nevada. Five other states—namely, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Hawaii, New York, and Oregon—are considering similar bans. 

In 2019, bipartisan politicians, including vegan Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), introduced the Humane Cosmetics Act to ban cosmetic animal testing nationwide, as well as prohibit the import of cosmetics tested on animals from countries worldwide. Currently, more than 900 companies—including 600 members of national trade association Personal Care Products Council (PCPC)—officially endorse the Humane Cosmetics Act. 

The momentum created by individual states banning cosmetic animal testing is expected to push the federal legislation forward through the current Congress.