New York Becomes The 10th State To Ban The Sale Of Cosmetics Tested On Animals

December 20, 2022

New York has become the tenth state to ban the sale of cosmetics tested on animals.

Assembly member Linda B. Rosenthal announced on Friday that her legislation, the New York Cruelty-Free Cosmetics Act, has been signed into law.

The law will prohibit the manufacture and sale of cosmetics in New York State that have been tested on animals, beginning in January 2023.

"For decades, helpless animals have been subjected to cruel and painful experiments simply for the creation of cosmetic products," said Rosenthal. "At the same time, research methods have evolved, rendering unnecessary the requirement that animals undergo inhumane tests to help companies create a new mascara or shampoo. In 2008, I passed a law prohibiting the use of cruel animal testing methods in cases where an alternative was available. The Cruelty-Free Cosmetics Act is the final step in ensuring that New York State is free of cosmetics tested on animals for our own vanity."

The signing of this legislation makes New York State the tenth in the nation to ban the manufacture and sale of cosmetics tested on animals, following California, Nevada, Illinois, Hawaii, Maryland, Maine, New Jersey, Virginia, and Louisiana.

"With Governor Hochul's signature on this legislation, New York State officially recognizes that cosmetics testing on animals should be a thing of the past, and has joined the growing number of states and companies calling for a stop to these experiments," said Brian Shapiro, New York state director for the Humane Society of the United States.

"With the increasing availability of non-animal test methods and thousands of existing ingredients, there is no excuse to continue harming animals for the sake of products such as shampoo, aftershave or mascara. We thank Assemblymember Linda B. Rosenthal and Sen. Alessandra Biaggi for their leadership on this issue and Gov. Hochul for signing A.5653B/S.4839B into law. Now it is up to Congress to pass the Humane Cosmetics Act to bring about a consistent standard for ending cosmetics animal testing across the country."

It has been a monumental week for animal rights in New York. Gov. Hochul also signed legislation prohibiting pet stores in the state from selling dogs, cats and rabbits starting December 2024.