Cruelty Free International is working hard to allow Leaping Bunny accredited brands to access the Chinese market without any animal testing.
As we mentioned, Chinese rules require animal testing for all imported cosmetics. There is also a risk that if a brand starts selling in China, their products will be tested on animals after they have entered the country.
To help brands enter the Chinese market without the need for animal testing, Cruelty Free International has run a pilot programme for a few beauty brands. Under the programme, the brands are able to sell beauty products in China via certain pre-approved sales channels without the need for any animal testing.
There have been other positive developments in China:
At the start of 2020, the Chinese State Council passed a draft bill entitled “Cosmetics Supervision and Administration Regulation”. This would allow companies offering certain imported cosmetics e.g. lipstick, shampoo, body wash and lotion, to sell in China without mandatory animal testing (so bringing them into line with the requirements for cosmetic products made domestically in China). However, as a result of the unprecedented Coronavirus pandemic this year (2020) the final regulation for this bill to be adopted has not taken place so animal testing on imported products is still required.
Also, in January 2020, the Chinese State Administration for Market Regulation made changes to help brands control whether testing would take place on their products. Under these new measures, cosmetics manufacturers would be notified before any animal testing would be carried out on a product. This would give a company time to take action before any testing on their products occurred - for example by removing them from sale.
While these are positive developments, there is a long way to go before consumers can be sure that products sold in China are cruelty free.