The Body Shop revives iconic t-shirts in its fight against animal testing
The Body Shop was a pioneering campaigner against animal testing in cosmetics dating back to the establishment of the business in the 1970s and now the British retailer has revived its fight after the UK Government made silent changes to its policy on an outright ban on animal testing, which came to light earlier this year.
The UK’s absolute ban on animal testing, which was passed in 1998 following The Body Shop and Cruelty Free International’s campaigning, however in 2019 the government re-aligned its policy with the less stringent EU rules – allowing for the testing of cosmetics ingredients on animals.
To raise awareness of these changes and call for a reinstation of the full ban, The Body Shop and long-term campaign partner, Cruelty Free International, have launched a limited-edition version of their iconic heritage ‘Forever Against Animal Testing’ t-shirt. This t-shirt first appeared when the organisations campaigned on this issue in the early 90s and were worn by The Body Shop founder and activist Dame Anita Roddick.
100% of the profits from the sale of the new limited-edition t-shirts will go to Cruelty Free International to support their work to bring an end to inhumane animal testing. The T-shirts are available to purchase online and at The Body Shop's Battersea store.
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The campaign has won the support of celebrities and influencers including Made in Chelsea star, Lucy Watson (above) and Ru Paul’s Drag Race competitor Divina de Campo, are helping to drive awareness of the legal loophole to their 1.5M followers and are set to be joined by further supporters in the coming days.
The Body Shop says the changes in legislation fly in the face of public opinion in the UK citing a YouGov study which shows that almost three quarters (71%) of the public support the Government reducing testing on animals and almost two fifths (17%) of the public say animal testing is an issue of high importance to them – the same ranking as minimum wage and criminal justice.
Chris Davis, International Sustainability, Activism and Communications Director at The Body Shop said: “Beauty does not need to come at the cost of animal rights - and our cruelty free products have been proving that since the 1970s. We and our partners started this fight against animal testing a long time ago, and our resolve is stronger than ever to see it through today. We know the British public care passionately about animal rights, and we can’t wait to see people show their support for the campaign by styling a Forever Against Animal Testing t-shirt their own way.”
Michelle Thew, CEO of Cruelty Free International, added: “It is unbelievable that the fight to end such needless suffering continues 25 years after we thought we had won a permanent ban on animal testing for cosmetics in the UK.
“I am proud of the achievements that The Body Shop and ourselves have made, demonstrating that animal testing is outdated and unnecessary, especially with the increased availability of non-animal testing methods. The public want animal testing for cosmetics to end and leading companies support our call for a cruelty-free world. We believe that nothing should prevent the Home Office from reinstating the ban we worked so hard for. Let’s end animal testing for cosmetics once and for all. We won the fight in 1998 and we will win again.”
