Rabbits are on a roll! Natural-products giant Nature's Gate just became the fourth company to pull out of the Chinese market until the country stops requiring tests on animals for cosmetics. After talks with PETA, Nature's Gate agreed that there is nothing pretty about tormenting animals in laboratories, and the company chose to forgo the large Chinese market, rather than sacrificing its commitment to being cruelty-free.

iStockphoto.com/SQUAMISH 

PETA is proud to give Nature's Gate our Courage in Commerce Award for its dedication to offering a wide array of quality personal-care and beauty products without  harming animals anywhere in the world.

And Nature's Gate is in good company: Paul Mitchell, Dermalogica, and Pangea Organics have all pulled their products out of China in order to save animals' lives, and many more companies, such as Urban Decay and NYX, have refused to sell in China until the animal testing requirements are lifted. As a result, these conscientious companies are being rewarded with even more customer support, and with the help of the scientists PETA is helping to fund, China is prepping to approve its first non-animal testing method. 

Please join us in thanking Nature's Gate, and continue to support companies that don't test on animals by checking PETA's online list of companies that do and that don't test on animals. Order your own free copy of PETA's first-ever global cruelty-free shopping guide and take it with you every time you shop! Naturally.

Today is a monumental day. Starting today, any cosmetics product or ingredient that is tested on animals anywhere in the world cannot be sold in the European Union. So every one of the 500 million EU consumers will be purchasing only cruelty-free cosmetics.

The European Parliament had already banned cosmetics companies from tormenting animals in cruel tests on EU soil. But now that the deadline for the last step of this historic phased-in ban on animal testing has arrived, companies eyeing the lucrative EU market will have to abandon all animal tests anywhere in the world for both their finished products and their ingredients. The ban has already led many companies to invest in advanced non-animal testing methods, sparing countless rabbits, guinea pigs, mice, rats, and other animals from having chemicals dumped into their eyes, poured down their throats, and ground into their skin.  

The EU ban reflects the public's conviction that cosmetics should not be valued over animals' lives. People on this side of the pond can let our voices be heard, too—by purchasing only cruelty-free products. Please order PETA's free Beauty Without Bunnies Cruelty-Free Shopping Guide today, and PETA's online database of companies that don't test on animals—anywhere in the world—makes it as easy as point, click, and save lives. 

Companies that test their products on animals needn't bother trying to ship them to Israel, because, starting New Year's Day, the country banned the import, sale, and marketing of animal-tested cosmetics, toiletries, and household cleaners. Previously, in 2007, the Israeli government had banned using animals to test personal-care and household products within the country. But with the new law, which was passed in 2010 and came into effect January 1, 2013, lawmakers have one-upped themselves, blocking products that have been tested on animals in other countries from even crossing Israel's border.

PETA and our affiliates are working to end the testing of cosmetics and household products on animals in countries around the world, and Israel has proved that a full ban on such vile products is not only possible but also ethically responsible. The EU had passed a similar ban, which was also scheduled to take effect in 2013, but lawmakers are now considering extending that deadline. PETA and PETA U.K. have been pushing hard to get the EU to uphold the original end date. In addition, PETA India is trying to get a similar ban implemented in that country, and the effort has a lot of momentum. PETA and PETA Asia have been helping Chinese scientists switch to in vitro cosmetics testing methods and are encouraging the Chinese government to accept the results in place of the animal tests that it currently requires. And in the U.S., PETA has been purchasing stock in companies that conduct animal tests so that we can propose shareholder resolutions to switch to humane testing methods.

But despite all the legal hullabaloo, we can at least designate our homes cruelty-free areas. It's easy to select personal-care and household products that weren't tested on animals by glancing at PETA's new global Cruelty-Free Shopping Guide, the latest complete list of companies that refuse to conduct or pay for any animal tests anywhere in the world. 

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.

PETA's 2010 Sexiest Vegetarian Celebrity Olivia Wilde and shelter dog advocate Emma Stone have another (synthetic) feather to put in their nonwool caps.

The ladies each earned a PETA Kind Choices Award for promoting cruelty-free cosmetics from Revlon, one of the first cosmetics companies to ban all animal testing. 

Olivia and Emma are gorgeous living proof that women can save animals' lives with every mascara, eye shadow, and blush product they purchase. In addition to Revlon, hundreds of other companies, including Almay, Kiss My Face and ELF, refuse to test their products on animals. Check out PETA's handy cruelty-free guide for the complete list.

Written by Michelle Sherrow

Pamela Anderson has proven time and time again that she is beautiful, inside and out. Now you have a chance to win Pamela's heart—or rather, her heart-shaped bag filled with cruelty-free cosmetics from her own line.  

All you have to do to have a chance to win one of the five cosmetics sets we're giving away is make up a caption for this sweet photo of Olivia the rat:

ArtBrom/CC by 2.0

Mine would be "Gee, your cruelty-free-shampooed hair smells terrific!" Top mine with your amazing caption and you might win.

The contest ends on October 20, 2010, and we'll select five winners on October 22, 2010. Be sure to read our privacy policy and terms and conditions, as you're agreeing to both by commenting.

Good luck!

Written by Karin Bennett

We're carefully watching a bill that was recently introduced in Congress. The Safe Cosmetics Act of 2010 (SCA) aims to ensure the safety of all cosmetics ingredients. Sounds great, right? I know I don't want to smear toxic chemicals on my face or swipe them across my lips.

On the surface, the SCA looks wonderful: Even the language in support of alternatives to animal testing is good. However, even though the bill supports the development of—and requires the use of—non-animal testing methods whenever possible, most "safety" testing is still performed on animals using tests that were designed in the 1930s and '40s. These tests fail to provide reliable information that can be used to protect people, and their continued use would result in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of animals.

To provide greater protection to people and animals and to ensure that U.S. manufacturers will not be driven from the European market, this bill should be made consistent with the European Cosmetics Directive, which explicitly prohibits the testing of cosmetics on animals.

Please check back for updates—we'll keep you informed. In the meantime, you can help animals now by contacting your members of Congress about another important piece of legislation that needs stronger language to require the use of non-animal testing methods. You can also help protect animals by only buying products from cruelty-free companies.

Written by Shawna Flavell