The Body Shop has partnered with Cruelty Free International to launch a new campaign, calling for a global ban on animal testing in cosmetic products and ingredients by 2020.

The Body Shop has plans to take the campaign to the highest authority, the United Nations, and request an international convention banning cosmetic testing on animals.

Jessie Macneil-Brown, Senior Manager International Campaigns and Corporate Responsibility, The Body Shop, says: "The Body Shop passionately believes that no animal should be harmed in the name of cosmetics and that animal testing on products and ingredients is outdated, cruel and unnecessary...This campaign will finish what we both started back in the 1980s. We are calling on at least eight million people from every corner of the globe who care about animal welfare to join our cause and sign our petition. We will take this petition to the United Nations to call on them to support a global ban on animal testing in cosmetic products and ingredients."

Michelle Thew, CEO, Cruelty Free International says: "While more and more countries require non-animal safety tests and many have taken steps to prohibit cosmetics testing on animals, there is more work to be done. Where animal testing is allowed - on both products and ingredients - most countries do not require testing data to be made available to the public or even to regulators. This makes it extremely difficult to know how widespread animal testing is. Because 80% of countries around the world still allow animal testing in cosmetics, a global ban is the only way to truly eliminate animal suffering."