SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – State Rep. Jonathan Carroll, D-Northbrook, recently passed bipartisan legislation to ban the sale of animal-tested cosmetics in Illinois. Gov. Pritzker signed Carroll’s bill into law this month.
“Using defenseless animals to test the potential harms and benefits of cosmetic products is immoral and inhumane,” said Carroll. “My new law will require companies to be more creative in how they conduct their product testing, and they will now do so without having animals to exploit.”
Carroll led the charge to pass Senate Bill 241 in Illinois, which prohibits the sale of animal-tested cosmetics and other products in Illinois by 2020. Currently, there is very little regulation on animal testing by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and specific tests to demonstrate the safety of individual cosmetic products or their ingredients are not mandated. Carroll’s measure makes Illinois the fifth state to outlaw the sale of cosmetics tested on animals, and the first state in the Midwest to do so.
“Illinois should continue being a national leader on multiple fronts, and this is one more avenue for us to highlight,” said Carroll. “Technology is advancing at an incredible rate, and that should provide ample opportunities for businesses to adapt when finding new ways to test their products.”