EDM 176 'PROCTER AND GAMBLE AND SPONSORSHIP OF LONDON 2012 OLYMPICS'
This Early Day Motion is intended to tackle and discourage animal testing of cosmetics and household products. We are protesting against Procter & Gamble’s (P&G) sponsorship of the London 2012 Olympics, which was announced on 28 July 2010. [1] P&G are the subject of a massive global consumer boycott in protest at their continued use of animals in cruel and deadly toxicity tests for the sake of cosmetics and cleaning products. [2] P&G make animals suffer for brands like Fairy, Herbal Essences, Olay and Pantene.
The UK banned animal testing for cosmetics on the grounds of unnecessary cruelty back in 1998. That ban has now been extended across the European Union. P&G evade this ban by testing cosmetics on animals in the USA and other countries with weak animal welfare laws.
P&G's unethical practices therefore conflict sharply with the social values of the United Kingdom. By accepting sponsorship from P&G, the London 2012 Olympic Games are effectively promoting gratuitous cruelty to animals which is strongly opposed by the majority of the British public. [3]
This EDM asks the Government to speak out against the P&G deal. Opinion polls reveal that most people would stop buying personal care products if they knew their ingredients were tested on animals by the manufacturer or with their acquiescence.
However, P&G’s Olympics sponsorship will convey a false image of ethics and social responsibility. Without exposure and debate about their animal testing practices, P&G have little incentive to move beyond such egregious animal tests. That is why silence on this matter from MPs and UK Government would be equivalent to tacit approval of this barbaric practice. In this instance, sitting on the fence contributes to unnecessary cruelty to animals.
Testing cosmetics on animals also puts P&G in opposition to the fundamental principles of Olympism [4], which uphold 'universal fundamental ethical principles' and promote 'a peaceful society'. Yet it’s hard to think of anything less ethical or peaceful than P&G’s practice of poisoning animals to death for such trivial purposes.
This is the text of EDM 176, which was tabled before the deal was confirmed:
"That this House notes media reports of talks between the International Olympic Committee and Procter and Gamble regarding sponsorship of the London 2012 Olympics; recognises that Procter and Gamble continue to use animals in painful and lethal toxicity tests for the sake of cosmetics and cleaning brands such as Herbal Essences, Olay, Pantene, Head and Shoulders, Fairy and Ariel; further notes that the UK, the host country for the 2012 Games, banned such animal testing for cosmetics on the grounds of unnecessary cruelty back in 1998 and plans to ban animal testing of cleaning products; considers that testing cosmetics on animals also puts Procter and Gamble in opposition to the fundamental principles of Olympism to uphold universal fundamental ethical principles and promote a peaceful society; therefore calls on the Government to recognise that Procter and Gamble's unethical animal testing is in conflict with the values of the United Kingdom and the Olympic movement; and asks the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to express its opposition to Procter and Gamble's proposed sponsorship of London 2012 and work to prevent any such sponsorship deal."
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