Cosmetics sold or made in China have been under scrutiny by shoppers worldwide as China remains to be one of the last country to require cosmetics to be tested on animals by law. On June 2014, compassionate consumers were thrilled to hear that China finally made some changes to their animal testing requirements.
With these changes, 10,000 animals a year will be saved from being tested on! (Horray!) However the changes also created a lot of confusion about whether companies making or selling their products in China should be considered cruelty-free.
To help you better understand China’s animal testing laws, I’ve created this infographic to clarify if a product needs to be tested on animals as required by China’s laws or not.
*INFOGRAPHIC UPDATED: APRIL 8, 2018. You’re welcome to share the infographic but please do not edit, crop, translate, or modify the original image in any form.
As noted on Humane Society’s website, here is a short version of the state of cosmetic animal testing laws in China today:
1. Foreign imported ordinary cosmetics – still require animal testing
2. Domestically produced ordinary* cosmetics – animal testing no longer an absolute requirement
3. Both foreign imported and domestically produced ‘special use’** cosmetics – still require animal testing
4. Domestically produced ordinary cosmetics for foreign export only – have never required animal testing
5. Any cosmetic bought in China via a foreign e-commerce website – has never required animal testing.
*Ordinary cosmetics include make up, fragrances, skin, hair and nail care products.
**Special use cosmetics include hair dyes, perms and hair growth products, deodorants, sunscreens, skin-whitening creams, and other products that make a functional claim on the label.
If you want more information, check out HSI’s website and FAQ.
Thank you Humane Society’s Be Cruelty Free campaign and for all of the hard work they’ve done to help animals in need! Be sure to sign the global pledge and #BeCrueltyFree!
Mark
July 12, 2019I am completely against any form of animal testing and will not buy any products from any company that sells in China and has to contribute to the practice
This does, however, raise another question –
It is the Chinese government that impose the testing policy and, hence, those that are at fault. Does this mean I (we) should boycott Chinese manufactured goods as they are part of the same corporate mechanism
Seems like a double standard if not?
Phoebe
July 16, 2018Hi sorry i am a bit confused by all the laws. Do know if all of the cosmetics/ingredients of a said brand are tested on animals so that some may be sold in China or is it only the cosmetic products that are sold to/in China are the ones that are tested? Thankyou 🙂
Lynette
March 15, 2018I’m so confused by all of this. I have contacted Demeter Fragrance and they said they sell in china but they don’t have to test on animals. Will you please go over the email I got and help me make sense of it? I can send it to you if you’d like. Please help! I love their fragrances but I cannot support a company if I think they arent really cruelty free. Please write back. I’ve tried to contact other vegan beauty bloggers for help and no one responds.
Vicky Ly
March 18, 2018Hi Lynette,
I totally understand the frustration! Some start-ups and customer service reps actually don’t know that animal testing is required by law in China. Not sure if that’s the case with Demeter Fragrance but feel free to forward me the email at info@ethicalelephant.com