After years of pushing from PETA, the Chinese government has approved two more non-animal methods for testing cosmetics products in China.
The two newly approved tests, the direct peptide reaction assay for skin sensitization and the short time exposure assay for eye irritation, will spare countless animals the agony of having substances dripped into their eyes and rubbed onto their skin.
© iStock.com/Viorel Sims
This major progress is thanks to the groundbreaking work of the expert scientists and regulatory specialists at the Institute for In Vitro Sciences (IIVS), with whom PETA provided initial funding to train Chinese scientists and educate officials in modern non-animal methods.
No animal should be poisoned or blinded for a consumer product—or any other reason.
In 2012, PETA exposed the fact that some formerly cruelty-free companies had quietly started paying the Chinese government to test their products on animals in order to sell them in that country. At the time, animal tests were required for any cosmetics sold in China. PETA immediately contacted the leading experts in the field of non-animal test methods at IIVS and provided them with the initial grant to launch their work in China.
IIVS scientists successfully worked with Chinese officials to approve the first non-animal test method, the 3T3 neutral red uptake phototoxicity assay, which is used to test cosmetics for their potential toxicity when they come into contact with sunlight.
In 2014, the Chinese government announced that it would accept the results from non-animal test methods but only for non–special use cosmetics manufactured in China. Tests on animals are still required for all imported cosmetics and all special-use cosmetics, regardless of where they were manufactured.
Support Companies that Never Test on Animals
By purchasing only cruelty-free products, you can spare sensitive rabbits, guinea pigs, mice, rats, and other animals from excruciating tests, a lifetime of suffering, and death. Need help finding out which products are cruelty-free? We’ve got you covered: PETA’s Beauty Without Bunnies database currently lists more than 3,800 compassionate companies that don’t test on animals anywhere in the world.
