Ethical debates over the testing of cosmetics on animals has a long history, but with Europe's animal testing ban being implemented come 2013, the race has been on to find an alternative means of testing skin allergies. It has been reported that Hurel Corporation, in collaboration with cosmetics giant L'Oreal, are in the process of devloping a microchip that would be used on artificial skin cells.
The device, which will be placed on an artificial lymph node cultivated in the lab, will test cosmetic chemicals without the use of animals and mimic the same exact allergy testing typically performed on female rodents. The microchip sounds promising and should Hurel and L'Oreal get everything in working order, are said to potentially have a working prototype ready by late 2011.
While this is extremely positive news, it does make me wonder about cosmetics companies whose sole angle and marketing method has been "Cruelty-free" and "Not Tested on Animals." If testing on animals essentially becomes extinct, it will be interesting to see how they will re-brand themselves.
