Under Chinese law, all “human cosmetics” sold there must be tested on animals first. So a British or American beauty brand, e.g., which launches in this lucrative (no, very lucrative!) market risks getting its “Leaping Bunny” logo taken away.
Urban Decay and Dermalogica set foot in China earlier this year but pulled out quickly (in the process Dermalogica lost their leaping bunny logo very recently, but to be fair, they have withdrawn from China and they do not test on animals). The problem is, even if your products are NOT tested on animals in Europe, the USA or wherever they’re made, once you enter Chinese territory you’re playing by Chinese rules. And therein lies the Chinese takeaway effect: Brand goes into China, Leaping Bunny logo gets taken away.
L’Occitane, Yves Rocher and Caudalie (and big-in-America cosmetics range Mary Kay) are among those who can no longer use the Leaping Bunny logo because their products are now on sale there. L’Occitane has always been adamantly against animal testing but the brand’s presence in China has cost it its bunny logo. It’s a tempting proposition for a beauty brand. A mind-bogglingly massive, billion dollar market full of affluent Chinese consumers waiting to inhale the European and US designer fashion and beauty brands, shopping bags at the ready!
The real, only, and much bigger question (as I see it anyway) is: WHY IS ANYONE, ANYWHERE, STILL TESTING BEAUTY AND HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTS ON ANIMALS IN THE FIRST PLACE? There are plenty of brands that don’t.
Great list of cruelty-free brands at MyBeautyBunny here.
The Leaping Bunny logo and cruelty-free symbol is overseen internationally by the CICC (Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics) leapingbunny.org
To check which beauty brands DON’T test on animals, visit PETA and www.gocrueltyfree.org
Further reading: Beauty companies return to animal testing to exploit Chinese demand – The Independent
EU plans to ban the marketing of animal-tested products from 2013 onwards
