After the European Union banned the use of animals to test cosmetics in 2013, countries such as India, Israel, Norway, and Switzerland followed suit. In 2015, South Korea announced that it would stop animal testing by 2020. Many people consider toxicity testing to be cruel -- carried out on animals such as mice, rabbits, guinea pigs, and dogs -- but the United States still allows it in some cases, and China actually requires that all imported cosmetics (and some domestic products) be tested on animals before they can be sold to consumers. However, China is beginning to explore alternative methods. In 2018, for example, the Zhejiang Institute for Food and Drug Control opened a lab in the United States to learn how to use reconstructed skin cells instead.
Taking the cruelty out of cosmetics:
- People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) estimated that Chinese companies tested cosmetic products on more than 300,000 rabbits, mice, and other creatures in 2012.
- In the United States, the Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing at Johns Hopkins University is at the forefront of the new science. Its funding comes from private cosmetics companies, philanthropists, and grants.
- L'Oréal was the first cosmetics company to develop reconstructed skin cells for testing. They make these cells available to universities, scientists -- and even their competitors.