New York Cruelty Free Cosmetics Act (New York)

Update: On December 15, 2022, Governor Hochul signed the New York Cruelty Free Cosmetics Act into law! We are thankful to the bill sponsors, animal advocates, and partners who helped support this important New York bill.

Hundreds of thousands of animals, including rabbits, guinea pigs, and mice, are suffering in experiments to test cosmetics like shampoo and eye shadow. Not only can safe cosmetics already be made from existing ingredients, but there are new technologies that are more effective and more reliable for testing product safety. These methods are often less expensive and faster than tests that use animals. 

The New York Cruelty Free Cosmetics Act, A.5653-A/S.4839, would prohibit the manufacture or sale of most cosmetics tested on animals after January 1, 2022. In 2008, New York enacted a law requiring companies to use test methods validated by the Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Validation of Alternative Methods (ICCVAM), a committee of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. If passed, New York would join California, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Nevada, and Virginia in banning the sale of most cosmetic products and ingredients that have been tested on animals.  

The bill is sponsored by Assemblymember Linda B. Rosenthal (D-67) and Senator Alessandra Biaggi (D-34).  

Learn more about animal testing.