All our products are assessed for human safety by qualified experts. We seek to eliminate the need for animal testing where scientific methods and technological advances allow. When this is not possible, we use the following approach to keep the use of animals to a minimum:

• We carry out the vast majority of our safety testing using non animal procedures.
• We do not carry out or commission animal tests for cosmetics, household products or their ingredients, unless specifically required by law and/or regulatory agencies or an alternative test is unavailable. We comply with the European Union Cosmetics Directive, which comes into force in 2009.
• We may use animal tests to study the safety of ingredients or products not intended for cosmetic or household use, e.g. medical devices and pharmaceutical products, when required by law and/or regulatory agencies or when non-animal alternatives are unavailable. These tests are conducted in strict compliance with applicable ethical and legal standards.

In addition, K-C has for many years encouraged the development of non animal test methods by funding research into alternatives and by supporting scientific exchange. For example:

• We are a founding member of, and continue to support the Institute for, In Vitro Sciences (IIVS), a non-profit foundation that promotes the adoption and regulatory acceptance of alternatives to animal testing.
• We support the Johns Hopkins University Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing (CAAT).
• We are a contributing member of the Fund for the Replacement of Animals in Medical Experiments (FRAME).
• We are a member of the European Partnership for Animal Alternatives, a common forum between industry and the European Commission to advance the replacement of animal testing.
• We are a voting member of the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation Animal Welfare Biological Effects Working Group.
• We have sponsored a number of international meetings on alternatives to animal testing. Most recently, K-C was a silver sponsor of the 15th ESTIV/INVITOX International Congress on In Vitro Toxicology, in Stockholm, September 2008.

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