Written by Jeff Mackey
We're tickled countless shades of pink to report that NYX Cosmetics has affirmed its commitment to producing 100 percent cruelty-free cosmetics by pledging not to sell its products in China until animal tests are no longer required there for makeup and personal-care items. To applaud the company's commendable choice to stay out of this large consumer market so that not even one animal will be harmed for its products, PETA has given NYX Cosmetics our Courage in Commerce Award.
We hope NYX won't have to wait too long before marketing in China. Thanks to training and outreach partially funded by PETA, China is poised to begin accepting its first-ever in-vitro (non-animal) test for cosmetics ingredients soon. In the meantime, though, the only way into the Chinese cosmetics market is over the dead bodies of animals.
Unlike corporations that sell out animals in hopes of a larger market share (or refuse to say whether they pay for animal testing or not), NYX Cosmetics and other principled cosmetics and personal-care companies, including Paul Mitchell and Urban Decay, are making ethical conduct a top priority, and they deserve our support.
What You Can Do
Ready to change your look? Starting your holiday shopping? Before you hit the stores, make sure you're not buying into cruelty by checking PETA's list of companies that don't test on animals—it's the numero uno resource for up-to-date info on cruelty-free businesses.
Thanks to a grant from PETA, scientists in China are learning how to test cosmetics in a test tube instead of on animals. The Institute for In Vitro Sciences (IIVS), a global leader in the advancement of alternatives and known for its brilliant work in helping corporations switch from animal to non-animal testing, just held a seminar at Beijing Technology and Business University (BTBU) to teach Chinese scientists how to test cosmetics ingredients without using animals. The training was made possible by a new grant to IIVS from PETA—the second grant that we've given the group for its international work—to help purchase equipment needed for the course. PETA first became involved following our discovery that Avon, Mary Kay, and Estée Lauder had been secretly paying for tests on animals despite many years on PETA's list of companies that don't test cosmetics on animals.
© IIVS
A Change Coming to China
The Chinese government requires tests on animals before many cosmetics products can be marketed in that country. PETA (along with our friends at PETA Asia) is working to change that, and one key is having scientists who are ready to implement non-animal (in vitro) test methods. BTBU is home to the largest university program in cosmetics science in China, and the school is establishing a new laboratory to teach and conduct in vitro testing. About 30 students and faculty members took part in the training.
With a $33,000 PETA grant—thanks to the McGrath Family Foundation, whose support makes this possible—IIVS was able to train participants on a procedure that can be used in place of the cruel Draize eye irritancy test performed on rabbits. As Dr. Rodger Curren, IIVS' president, explained:
Support from PETA has allowed the university to expedite the incorporation of hands-on training in non-animal (in vitro) methods to undergraduate, graduate and faculty at BTBU. Both faculty and students are enthusiastic about the training and planning for future sessions has already begun.
Please buy cosmetics and personal-care products only from companies that don't test on animals, and tell Avon, Mary Kay, and Estée Lauder that you won't buy their products as long as they fund animal testing.
Written by Michelle Kretzer
Poignant words on when animals die, sticking it to Ringling and its torture sticks, and a treat for extreme couponers: It's everything you might have missed this week.
PETA's Tumblr page keeps you up to date on all the latest animal news.
After two decades of touting their "no animal testing" policies, Avon, Estée Lauder, and Mary Kay have quietly resumed paying for cruel tests on animals—without letting consumers know about this stunning about-face. After confirming with each company that chemicals are being dripped into rabbits' eyes and that substances are being rubbed onto animals' skin because of requirements of the Chinese government in order to market products in that country, PETA has downgraded the companies to our "do test" list.
All three companies were among the first large international cosmetics manufacturers to ban all tests on animals after being targeted by PETA. Avon was the first in 1989, following PETA's "Avon Killing" campaign, a play on the company's then-slogan "Avon Calling." Mary Kay came next, after being publicly lampooned by cartoonist Berkeley Breathed in a series called The Night of the Mary Kay Commandos in his hilarious Bloom County comic strip. Estée Lauder soon followed suit.
For each test required by the Chinese government, superior non-animal methods are available. Mary Kay had taken steps to work with Chinese officials on the acceptance of these tests, but Avon and Estée Lauder seem to have agreed to the tests without objection. PETA has jump-started the effort for non-animal test validation by awarding a grant to the Institute for In Vitro Sciences, which is working with scientists and regulatory bodies to replace animal tests in China.
Please let Avon, Estée Lauder, and Mary Kay know that you won't buy their products until they are 100 percent cruelty-free once again. Fortunately for animals, you can still choose from more than 1,000 companies in PETA's online searchable database of cosmetics and personal-care companies that don't harm animals at home or abroad.
If you have a general question for PETA and would like a response, please e-mail Info@peta.org. If you need to report cruelty to an animal, please click here. If you are reporting an animal in imminent danger and know where to find the animal and if the abuse is taking place right now, please call your local police department. If the police are unresponsive, please call PETA immediately at 757-622-7382 and press 2.
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