Shiseido has researched alternative test methods that can be performed without animal testing for over 40 years since establishing a research department engaged in safety assurance in 1963. We completely abolished animal testing* and introduced a safety assurance system without animal testing in 2013.
Under the safety assurance system with rigorous internal standards, and in collaboration with external stakeholders, Shiseido has been striving for establishing alternative methods, which it developed independently or jointly with its partners, as official methods by regulatory authorities and thereby aiming to further evolve safety evaluation methods based on alternatives to animal testing and disseminate them in society.
According to the rigorous internal standards, Shiseido assures the safety of cosmetic ingredients without animal testing through three steps: safety assurance by examining existing toxicological data, safety assurance by alternative testing methods, and final safety assurance by human testing (e.g., patch tests and use tests in humans under a physician’s supervision).
Shiseido widely shares findings obtained from years of research on this website as well as through scientific publications and presentations at academic conferences. We hope that through these activities, alternative testing methods developed by Shiseido will commonly be used by ever more research institutes and evolve further.
Since establishing a research department engaged in safety assurance in 1963, Shiseido has been continuing research to further improve the accuracy of safety test methods and to expand their applications based on the knowledge that has been accumulated in safety studies. Shiseido continues to venture into new technologies without animal testing such as next-generation risk assessment (NGRA) to drive and support the development of cosmetic ingredients that lead to new sustainability innovation.
Shiseido has continued activities to have alternative methods that the company developed on its own or jointly developed with its partners officially recognized as official methods under applicable national or regional regulations. Specifically, Shiseido was involved in the validation activities led by the Japanese Center for the Validation of Alternative Methods (JaCVAM) and those led by the European Union Reference Laboratory for Alternatives to Animal Testing (EURL ECVAM) and contributed to developing draft guidelines as a member of the expert team of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). As a result, two testing methods below have been listed in the OECD testing guidelines:
Moreover, in 2021, photosensitization test data compiled by Shiseido were incorporated into the QSAR Toolbox, which is an in silico system to support safety evaluation of compounds and is provided by the OECD under the cooperation of the National Institute of Technology and Evaluation (NITE).
As part of the activities of the Japan Cosmetic Industry Association, Shiseido will continue to contribute to establishing guidance on alternatives to animal testing by participating in the Study Group on Guidance on Safety Evaluation of Quasi-drugs and Cosmetics. In addition, as a founding member of the International Collaboration on Cosmetics Safety established in 2023, Shiseido will continue activities for realizing beauty with cosmetic products without animal testing.
Shiseido has actively been involved in assessments and studies led by the Scientific Research Team of the Ministry of Health and Welfare (currently, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare) since 1990 and those by the Japanese Society for Alternatives to Animal Experiments (JSAAE) since their commencement. Through these activities, Shiseido has contributed to disseminating and spreading alternatives to animal testing for many years. Before Shiseido established the safety assurance system without animal testing in 2013, it established the Discussion Panel on Cosmetics Safety Assurance Independent of Animal Testing aiming to discuss the scientific validity and social acceptability of such a system, and had thorough discussions involving external experts and researchers.
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