What You Need to Know About the Law Banning Animal Testing for Cosmetics in Chile

On Friday, January 26, 2024, Law No. 21,646 was published in the Official Gazette, amending the Public Health Code to prohibit animal testing of cosmetic products, as well as the importation and sale of products that have been tested on animals. In this article, we review the main changes introduced by this regulation, its key elements, and the benefits associated with its implementation.

Animal testing has been a widespread practice in the cosmetics industry. However, in recent years, various countries have moved toward banning it, implementing regulatory frameworks that promote alternative methods. This is the case in countries such as Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, and South Korea, among others.

Image by Te Protejo

In Chile, this process began in December 2020 with the filing of Bill No. 13,966-11 by the Chilean Association for the Protection of Animals ( Te Protejo ) and Humane World for Animals, with the support of members of Congress. The initiative sought to ban animal testing to demonstrate the safety of cosmetic products, as well as the sale, import, and marketing of cosmetic, hygiene, and personal fragrance products that had been tested on animals.

After years of legislative proceedings, on December 20, 2023, the bill was unanimously approved by the Senate, marking a milestone for animal protection in the country and awaiting publication in the Official Gazette, which finally took place in January 2024.

On the morning of Friday, January 26, 2024, Law No. 21,646 was published in the Official Gazette, prohibiting animal testing for cosmetic products in Chile. This regulation stipulates that it will take effect twelve months after its publication; therefore, the ban will apply to all cosmetic, hygiene, and personal fragrance products that enter the market, are sold, or are imported once the law is in force. In this regard, products already in circulation are not affected, as the law is not retroactive. To help understand its scope, the main changes introduced by this regulation are outlined below.

Law No. 21,646 provides that:

The use of animals to conduct safety and efficacy tests on cosmetic, hygiene, and personal fragrance products is prohibited. Furthermore, the sale, marketing, importation, and introduction into the domestic market of these products are prohibited if they have been tested on animals, including their ingredients, combinations, or final formulations.

In addition, to ensure the safety and efficacy of these products, the use of alternative methods that do not involve animals is required. These methods must be recognized by the Institute of Public Health or by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. This provision is also not retroactive; therefore, it will apply only to products that enter the market after the law takes effect.

However, like other laws, this law provides for certain exceptions. The use of animals may be permitted on an exceptional basis for safety and efficacy testing, but only in cases where there are no alternative methods recognized by the Institute of Public Health or the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development that allow for the evaluation of these parameters. Furthermore, this exception applies when the ingredients are subject to concentration restrictions for cosmetic use and no substitute is available for their formulation.

Furthermore, the regulations stipulate that new scientific evidence derived from animal testing may not be used to demonstrate the safety or efficacy of cosmetic, hygiene, and personal fragrance products, or of their ingredients, combinations, or final formulations. Exceptions to this restriction are permitted only in specific cases, such as when there are no recognized alternative methods for assessing the safety of an ingredient, when there is documented evidence that such tests were not conducted for cosmetic purposes, or when the data come from animal tests that were previously authorized on an exceptional basis.

Image by Te Protejo

Penalties for Noncompliance with the Law

As with any regulation, failure to comply with the provisions set forth in this law is subject to various penalties, which are governed by the Public Health Code, the Penal Code, and the Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights.

In accordance with the provisions of Title III of Book Ten of the Health Code, those who violate these regulations may face fines, as well as the closure of establishments, premises, or locations where the violation occurred. In addition, operating authorizations or permits may be revoked, the distribution and use of the products in question may be suspended, and those products may be recalled, seized, destroyed, or denatured.

Furthermore, according to Article 291-bis of the Penal Code, the use of animals for safety testing in violation of the law may be considered animal abuse, which allows such incidents to be reported to the Public Prosecutor’s Office.

Use of the “cruelty-free” label

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Article 24 of Law No. 19,496, which establishes regulations on the protection of consumer rights, prohibits the misuse of labels such as “cruelty-free.” In this context, Law No. 21,646 allows manufacturers to use these terms on packaging or labels only when they can demonstrate that the cosmetic product, its ingredients, combinations, or final formulations have not been tested on animals.

However, they may not use this type of labeling if the product or its components have been tested on animals after the law took effect, or if the manufacturer relies on data obtained from such tests to demonstrate the product’s safety or efficacy.

It is important to note that this regulation applies only to activities within the country’s borders. Therefore, even though animal testing for cosmetics is prohibited in Chile, some brands may conduct such tests abroad. In this scenario, cruelty-free certification remains a key tool for consumers to identify products that have not been tested on animals at any stage of their development.

The implementation of this law represents a significant step forward for animal protection, as it helps reduce the use of animals in the cosmetics industry and promotes the adoption of more ethical and safer alternative methods.

In this context, staying informed and choosing products with current certification is essential to ensuring that your purchases are truly cruelty-free. To find out about available alternatives, you can check the list of certified cruelty-free brands at Te Protejo and other official certification bodies.