Lush drives change in cruelty-free cosmetics with £250,000 prize fund
The latest Lush Prize has rewarded big data projects aimed at ending animal tests
Every year, it’s estimated that over 115 million animals are used in testing laboratories around the world.
Inspired by a desire to rid the industry of unnecessary animal testing, high-street beauty brand Lush founded the Lush Prize in an effort to increase awareness and implement changes. Celebrating the eighth edition, the brand has revealed the winners for the 2020 prize, which for the first time has included people that are working on big data projects as a potential to replace animal tests.
This year’s £250,000 Lush Prize has been awarded to nine winners, three of which were using computer databases to predict the toxicity of chemicals for humans in an effort to omit animal tests. The three computational winners include The MIE Atlas Team from Cambridge University (pictured, below); Edoardo Carnesecchi from Utrecht University; and Domenico Gadaleta from a Milan Research Institute.
Speaking about this year’s winners, Lush Prize director Rob Harrison said: “The judges were particularly excited by the fact that this year’s shortlist contained a new wave of projects which were modelling the cellular pathways of toxic molecules in their datasets. This combination of 21st century technologies showed perhaps the greatest promise yet for a widespread replacement of older and less reliable animal models on a global scale.”
The Lush Prize was founded in 2012 with the aim of bringing forward the date in which no further product safety testing on animals will be required. Collaborating with campaign research group, Ethical Consumer, the £250,000 fund is the biggest prize in the non-animal testing sector, and is billed as the only one that focuses solely on the complete replacement of animal testing.
This year’s prize categories included Science, aimed at the development of replacement non-animal tests; Public Awareness for increasing understanding of on-going testing; and Young Researcher, awarded to under-35-year-olds specialising in animal replacement research.
For a full list of this year’s winner or to find out more about the Lush Prize, visit lushprize.org
More from Vegetarian blog
_825_433_int.jpg "10 Vegetarian Christmas Recipes That Aren’t Nut Roast")
Although we wouldn’t turn down a great nut roast, we've put together a selection of knockout Christmas dishes that blow this traditional veggie dish out of the water!
Another World Vegan Month has been and gone and with the start of a new month, December turns our attention to the looming festivities and excitement to gather together with our loved ones. So whether you’re shopping for a fabulous free-from foodie, ethical fashion lover or green beauty queen, we’ve found some of the best vegan-friendly gifts to leave under the tree this year...
Our beautiful bumper Christmas issue is out now and oh boy you’re in for a treat…
_825_433_int.jpg "Our 5 Favourite Pyrex Recipes")
Born in 1915, Pyrex has been offering families new ideas to help prepare, cook and serve their food for over a century. Here are our some of our favourite Pyrex recipes...
Every year on the 1st of November, World Vegan Day sparks a month of lively vegan-filled discussion, encouraging vegetarians and meat-eaters alike to learn more about what it means to be a vegan. Whether you're new to veganism or a seasoned pro, World Vegan Month gives everyone the opportunity to raise awareness and encourage us all to try a plant-based diet.
