The Body Shop enlisted a group of dogs to protest in front of the United Nations’ headquarters, in an arresting bid to ban animal testing in the cosmetics industry.
Dogs of various breeds could be seen yesterday outside of the UN in New York City, with signs reading ‘ban animal testing’ around their necks.
The company has called on the UN to end animal testing in cosmetics worldwide, arguing that the practice harms up to 500,000 animals each year.
Message: The Body Shop enlisted a group of dogs to protest in front of the United Nations’ headquarters, in an arresting bid to ban animal testing in the cosmetics industry
Demonstration: Dogs of various breeds could be seen yesterday outside of the UN in New York City, with signs reading ‘ban animal testing’ around their necks
Prime spot: The demonstration saw the group of dogs pose in front of the UN’s iconic building in Manhattan, with the location’s iconic flags behind them
Rules: With yesterday’s protest, both organizations hoped to emphasize the fact that 80 per cent of countries around the globe do not have laws to ban cosmetic animal tests
Cruelty Free International, an advocacy group that campaigns against animal experiments, has partnered with the brand to launch a petition, which can currently be signed online globally.
The Body Shop and Cruetly Free International have met with UN representatives as part of the campaign, called Forever Against Animal Testing.
With yesterday’s protest, both organizations hoped to emphasize the fact that 80 per cent of countries around the globe do not have laws to ban cosmetic animal tests.
The demonstration saw the group of dogs pose in front of the UN’s iconic building in Manhattan, with the location’s iconic flags behind them.
Instagram pet photographer Elias Weiss Friedman, also known as The Dogist, who has a whopping three million followers on the platform, came to support the protest.
Also present was Louboutina, a dog that has become an online sensation for distributing hugs around the city and is now followed by 197,000 people on Instagram.
Campaign: The Body Shop has called on the UN to end animal testing in cosmetics worldwide, arguing that the practice harms up to 500,000 animals each year
Duo: Also present was Louboutina, a dog that has become an online sensation for distributing hugs around the city (she is pictured with her owner, Cesar Fernandez-Chavez)
Group: Instagram pet photographer Elias Weiss Friedman, also known as The Dogist, who has a whopping three million followers on the platform, came to support the protest
DNA: Created in 1976 by British businesswoman Anita Roddick, The Body Shop has long stood against animal testing in the cosmetics industry
A sense of duty: The group of dogs solemnly posed with their signs during the protest
Louboutina’s owner, Cesar Fernandez-Chavez, joined as well and donned one of the campaign’s sweatshirt that reads: ‘I am forever against animal testing.’
Created in 1976 by British businesswoman Anita Roddick, The Body Shop has long stood against animal testing in the cosmetics industry.
The brand suffered accusations of hypocrisy when it was sold to L’Oréal in 2006, because of the latter’s stance on animal testing.
L’Oréal has said it stopped testing its products on animals in 1989. However, the brand sells products in China, where authorities require animal tests to be conducted for certain products.
In recent years, L’Oréal has worked to ensure some of its products made and sold in China are no longer tested on animals, but the fact that it still trades with China currently prevents the company from being part of PETA’s cruelty-free list.
In June last year, the French cosmetic group announced it would sell The Body Shop to Brazilian make-up company Natura.