Partnering to End Animal Testing
Innospec is committed to eliminating the need for animal testing whilst upholding the highest possible standards of scientific and regulatory practice.
We are active and engaged members of the Animal-Free Safety Assessment (AFSA) and the International Collaboration on Cosmetics Safety (ICCS): two global initiatives with a laser sharp focus on championing human health and environmental safety through the adoption of animal-free assessments of chemicals, cosmetics and their ingredients. These organizations bring together a broad range of scientists and industry experts to execute new projects to drive greater global awareness of animal-free test methodologies with the ultimate goal of encouraging regulatory uptake. By participating in these initiatives, as a global speciality chemicals manufacturer, we add critical momentum to move the needle towards cruelty-free safety assessment.
- Erin Hill, CEO,
ICCS Cosmetics - Jay Ingram, Director,
Humane World for Animals / AFSA
ICCS Cosmetics
“Innospec’s membership in ICCS highlights the company’s leadership in driving sustainability through our shared mission of dedication to ethical treatment of animals in pursuit of cosmetic ingredient safety. By aligning business practices with environmental responsibility and compassionate values, together we strive to create solutions that not only benefit the planet but also foster innovation for a brighter, more sustainable future.”
Erin Hill, CEO, ICCS Cosmetics
Humane World for Animals / AFSA
“AFSA is a unique multi-sector collaboration that is working to advance the acceptance and use of animal-free safety science worldwide. Innospec plays a significant role in this work and have contributed to many AFSA initiatives, such as the publications on the Last Resort requirement within EU REACH and short-term aquatic toxicity, as well as our ongoing work highlighting examples of Difficult, Impossible, or Meaningless regulatory testing and advancing scientific knowledge of non-animal methods of assessing aquatic toxicity and bioaccumulation.”
Jay Ingram, Director, Chemicals, R&T, Humane World for Animals
Advancing Regulatory Science on Alternatives to Animal Testing
Next Generation Risk Assessments (NGRA)
Next Generation Risk Assessment (NGRA) is a risk assessment approach that integrates the use of New Approach Methodologies (or NAMs). The overall goal of an ‘NGRA’ is that it is relevant to humans, exposure-led (based on an exposure likelihood assessment), hypothesis-led (using a hypothesis about biologically relevant key events that lead to an adverse effect from chemical exposure) and designed to prevent harm. Although developing an NGRA that does not rely on animal data is challenging, it also presents a significant opportunity, to increase receptiveness and acceptance of non-animal data in safety decision making.
Traditionally, the toxicological hazards of chemical substances have been identified and assessed based on the findings from animal studies. Animal welfare considerations, societal expectations, and regulatory action have triggered the need for new methodologies and approaches to risk assessment.
Jay Dawick, Senior Toxicology and Risk Assessment Manager
“It is great to work for a company that is committed to the use and deployment of novel non-animal testing approaches to ensure the safety of the chemical ingredients we manufacture. On both a personal and professional level, I take great satisfaction from being given Innospec’s support to advance the science and challenge the status quo to help avoid animal testing under schemes like REACH.”
Test Laboratories
Innospec does not conduct any animal tests in-house and we set high standards in the selection, approval and utilization of service providers for our animal and non-animal testing needs. These include the application of internationally standardized methods (e.g. OECD, ISO or EPA Test Guidelines) in full compliance with Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) and local legislative requirements concerning the welfare of laboratory animals. We encourage our contract laboratory service providers to continuously reduce, refine and replace the use of animals in (eco)toxicological hazard assessments. We also reserve the right to inspect facilities at any time.
Our “Science First” Approach
We are proud to align our values with action in the fight against animal testing by adopting a “science-first” approach on this important topic. We put our policy into practice and have used cutting edge approaches to avoid animal testing even following requests from regulatory authorities.
Over the past three years, Innospec has implemented novel NGRA approaches to address the European Chemicals Agency’s (ECHA) compliance check decisions on several key ingredients from our portfolio. This has led to several thousands of animals being spared from unnecessary testing. Whilst there is no guarantee the approaches will be accepted by the regulatory authorities, we are confident that we have complied and upheld the “last resort” principle enshrined in the REACH legislation. This states that animal testing should only be used as a final option to gather safety data on a chemical and companies must utilize alternative non-animal methods whenever possible.