Ke$ha sends plea to cosmetics industry to stop animal testing

Humane Society International's Global Ambassador, Ke$ha, has penned a heart-felt plea to the global cosmetics industry in an open letter published on the day the European Union goes cruelty-free.

The Warrior! singer shares HSI's passion for animals and has given her full backing to our global Be Cruelty-Free campaign to end cosmetics cruelty worldwide. She's sending a powerful message to those cosmetics companies still testing on animals – it's time to stop the suffering.

Ke$ha's compassionate message comes at just the right time, as we celebrate the EU becoming the world's largest cruelty-free cosmetics market - with bans on both testing cosmetics on animals inside the EU as well as selling cosmetics tested on animals outside the EU. Thanks Ke$ha for supporting our Be Cruelty-Free mission of creating a world without cosmetics cruelty.

Read Ke$ha's open letter:

"Today I am celebrating something wonderful, something compassionate and selfless that combines two of my great loves: cosmetics and animals. Today, the European Union showed animal testing for beauty products the door by banning the sale of cruel cosmetics. From today, any new beauty product or ingredient that has been dripped in a rabbit's eyes, spread on a guinea pig's delicate skin or force fed to any animal, will not be welcome on shop shelves in the EU.

As a proud Global Ambassador for Humane Society International, which has led the campaign to achieve this historic ban, I can honestly say that today I have renewed faith in humanity. EU citizens showed their disgust at causing defenceless creatures pain and suffering for the sake of a new lip-liner or blusher, and their politicians listened and took action to change the world for the better. But this wasn't people caring because animals were suffering for cosmetics in their neighbourhood or even in their country—cosmetics testing on animals has been banned in the EU since 2009. This was an act of collective kindness towards voiceless animals whose suffering is taking place many thousands of miles away. In laboratories in China, India, Brazil, and even here in the United States, animals are enduring toxicity tests with cosmetic chemicals all in the name of beauty. But then EU citizens decided enough was enough: they didn't want that suffering on their conscience; they didn't want that blood on their hands. So from today, no more newly animal-tested cosmetics in EU shops!

To care so deeply about the suffering of animals so very far away, demonstrates something beautiful about the human spirit. So that's why I'm writing this open letter to the global cosmetics industry, because beauty is supposed to symbolise something wonderful and pure and transformational; something that inspires us and makes us happy. None of those things are true of animal testing. Animal testing is ugly—period. There can be no better time than this for the cosmetics industry to walk away from animal testing; no better moment than now, when the world's largest cosmetics market has refused to sell cruelly-produced products. This is your moment to make the world a better, kinder, more beautiful place. Take it. Join with Humane Society International's Be Cruelty-Free campaign to create a world where no animal has to suffer and die for the sake of cosmetics."

Sign the Be Cruelty-Free pledge at hsi.org/becrueltyfree and help HSI create a world where no animal has to suffer and die for the sake of cosmetics.