Indian Soap and Detergent Manufacturers Prohibited From Testing on Animals

Through a Right to Information request, PETA India has received a circular that was recently issued by the Committee for the Purpose of Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animals (CPCSEA) to manufacturers and industry associations that prohibits tests on animals for many household products in India, such as soaps, detergents and other surface active agents. This is the final step in the process initiated by PETA India in 2014, when we successfully worked with the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS)  to remove animal tests from the testing standards for household products – an effort supported by now–Union Minister Maneka Gandhi and other policymakers.

More than 2,000 companies around the world refuse to test on animals and favour the use of effective, modern non-animal methods, but many still choose to subject animals to painful tests in which substances are dripped into their eyes, sprayed in their faces or forced down their throats.

Before PETA India helped end these product tests on animals in India, one mandatory test under BIS requirements called for harsh chemicals to be rubbed onto guinea pigs’ abraded skin. Because of the vast physiological differences between humans and the animals used in these tests, the results are often misleading.

You can help by choosing only cruelty-free products. Here’s a list of companies that don’t test on animals.