Many compassionate cosmetics companies have made the forward-thinking choice not to test their products on animals. However, due to China’s rigid animal testing regulations, many businesses that sell cosmetic products in China have not been able to receive cruelty-free certification… until now!

In May 2021, China passed regulations to exempt imported “ordinary” cosmetics from mandatory animal testing. Ordinary cosmetics are categorized as products that do not have a specific purpose, such as anti-aging and skin-lightening products. Lotions, shampoos, body wash, and makeup products fall within the ordinary cosmetics category that does not require animal testing to be sold domestically in China.  

Until now, cruelty-free cosmetics companies could not sell their products in mainland China if they wanted to avoid the possibility of government-enforced animal testing, and should these companies decide to go ahead with the testing in order to sell their products in China, they would lose their Leaping Bunny cruelty-free company certification. Put another way, even if the companies were Leaping Bunny-certified to begin with, going ahead with selling in China would violate cruelty-free standards due to China’s previous animal testing regulations, which mandated animal testing for all cosmetics imports. 

Now, Leaping Bunny has introduced the Leaping Bunny China Qualification Program to help Leaping Bunny-certified companies enter the Chinese marketplace while maintaining strict cruelty-free standards. Leaping Bunny has partnered with regulatory experts in Shanghai, China, to ensure a company’s registrations do not include animal testing and post-market monitoring after its products are sold. To receive certification, companies must complete a pre-market audit and regular post-market audits. Companies must also agree to recall any products if the Chinese government requires testing of a product for any reason. 

Testing on animals for cosmetics is cruel and ugly. Mice, rats, rabbits, and guinea pigs are restrained and have test chemicals rubbed into their skin or dropped into their eyes to observe the effects. The terrified animals may experience burns, painful ulcers, blindness, illness, or even death. If they survive the agonizing experiments, they are suffocated or have their necks broken and discarded like trash. 

There’s nothing beautiful about testing cosmetics on animals. Huge congratulations to Leaping Bunny for creating this groundbreaking and much-needed program! 

Take action against the torture of animals in labs today!