A conversation with a pioneer of non-animal testing Dr Carol Treasure. Carol is a founder of XCellR8, a laboratory exclusively devoted to animal-free safety and efficacy tests for the cosmetics, personal care and chemical industries. XCellR8’s clients include high street retail brands, large ingredient manufacturers and fast growth SMEs.
Many of XCellR8’s tests are for moisturisers, soaps and shampoos – in fact, if you use a product from Lush, chances are its components were tested for how they will react with your skin by Carol and her team right here in the north of England…
There are two parts to our chat: the first takes place in the XCellR8 lab itself, and the second in a much quieter meeting room upstairs. We cover quite a range of issues ranging from the ethical to the scientific and the commercial – all with Carol’s good humour and infectious enthusiasm to the fore.
But first of all, let’s get over that tricky first introduction…