Ask your NY State Assembly Member to support the bill
We are delighted to support a new bill which would prohibit the sale in New York of household cleaning products developed using animal tests when reliable non-animal methods are available.
A11640 The Cruelty Free Cleaning Act was introduced by Assembly Member Linda Rosenthal and would require manufacturers introducing new household cleaning products for sale in New York to use available non-animal testing methods that have been accepted by state or federal regulators to assess product safety. The bill would apply only to new ingredients.
Cleaning products currently on the shelves would remain, regardless of how or why they, or their ingredients, were tested. After the bill is passed, new household cleaning products being sold in the state would require the use of modern, non-animal test methods that are accepted for use by regulators.
Assembly Member Linda B. Rosenthal (D/WF – Manhattan) said, “New York sent a message with the passage of my Cruelty Free Cosmetics Act in 2022 that animal testing is neither right nor necessary to determine the safety of products we use every day. It is now time to also bring household cleaning products into the modern era and end the use of outdated animal testing methods in favour of scientifically proven alternatives. Consumers should not be forced to choose between effective household cleaning products and their concern for animal welfare. New York has a history of passing strong animal welfare laws, and I look forward to working with Cruelty Free International again to advance this legislation and making New York State the first to enact such a ban.”
New York has a long history of leading the way in protecting animals from cruel testing, thanks in large part to Assembly Member Rosenthal’s leadership. In 2008, New York became one of the first three states to ban traditional animal irritancy tests in state laboratories and facilities whenever accepted non-animal methods are available. In 2016, Assembly Member Rosenthal introduced the first state legislation to prohibit the sale of newly tested cosmetics on animals. That bill became law in 2022, making New York the ninth state to enact a cruelty-free cosmetics law.
Now, New York has an opportunity to lead again. By passing A11640, the state can extend its commitment to modern humane science to household cleaning products and help ensure that animals are not used for testing household cleaning products when effective non-animal methods already exist.
Monica Engebretson, our Head of Public Affairs for North America, said, “Nearly everyone agrees that when a reliable non-animal testing method is available, it should be used. Yet simply having a modern alternative does not guarantee that animal testing will stop. In the U.S., outdated animal tests can continue even when effective, scientifically accepted non-animal methods are available.
“Cruelty Free International has identified several of these regulatory tests, including skin and eye irritation and skin sensitization tests that can be used for cleaning products. Assembly Member Rosenthal’s bill will help close this gap and ensure that household cleaning products sold in New York don’t come with a dirty secret: senseless animal testing.”
New York residents can help by writing to their State Assembly Member and asking them to support the New York Cruelty Free Cleaning Act (A11640).
Published on 3 September, 2026.
