As we all are trying to make the planet a better place for future generation. Makeup companies are catching on as well when it comes to testing products. This week, The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and L’Oréal cosmetic company announced a research collaboration designed to determine if EPA’s chemical toxicity forecaster (ToxCast) can be used in systemic toxicity tests.

L’Oréal is providing EPA $1.2 million in collaborative research funding plus robust safety data from a set of representative substances from the cosmetic sector, expanding the types of chemical use groups assessed by ToxCast. EPA will compare the ToxCast results to the L’Oréal data to determine if the reliability and
the relevance are appropriate for use in the safety assessment of chemicals in cosmetics.

EPA is using ToxCast to screen chemicals to understand their potential impact on processes in the human body that lead to adverse health effects. This exciting collaboration shows a hopeful outcome when it comes to eliminating animal testing. “EPA is pleased to collaborate with L'Oréal in the pursuit of improved methods for chemical testing,” said Jared Blumenfeld, EPA’s Regional Administrator for the Pacific Southwest. “Using state-of-the art methods, we hope to show that products can be proven safe for the consumer without the use of animals.”

The urgent need for more efficient and relevant methods of safety testing is underscored by the tens of thousands of inadequately assessed chemicals in the environment,” said Andrew Rowan, Ph.D., chief scientific officer of The Humane Society of the United States and president and chief executive officer of Humane Society International. “A successful outcome of this partnership will go a long way toward demonstrating the value of advanced, non-animal testing tools and the need for ongoing investment in this area.”

Yvelette Stines
@CalmingCorners