This week, Estée Lauder Companies announced its support for a global ban on beauty industry animal testing.
Estée Lauder Companies, which is the parent company of brands such as M.A.C., TooFaced, Becca, Smashbox, Le Labo and, of course, Estée Lauder, backed the #BeCrueltyFree Campaign. Led by Humane Society International, the campaign claims to be the “largest effort to end global cosmetic animal testing in history.”
This is big news because even though almost zero U.S cosmetics companies test products on animals anymore, and animal testing is banned in the European Union, it’s still an issue. If you remember from previous Hey, Beautiful blogs, the status “cruelty-free” doesn’t always mean what it seems.
While Estée Lauder stopped internal animal testing over three decades ago, many of the company’s brands are sold in countries that legally require animal testing on cosmetics or cosmetic ingredients. For example, Mainland China requires animal testing for all imported cosmetics, regardless of where they were manufactured. Last month, there was a fury online when it was revealed that Wet n Wild — which was considered animal-friendly by cruelty-free influencers, vegans and other animal lovers — was selling products in China and, consequently, not 100% cruelty-free.
So, this is Estée Lauder’s official pledge to help end animal testing worldwide by working with international legislation that aims to put an end to existing animal testing and regulations, as well as supporting research on alternatives to testing on animals.
Gia Mazur is an award-winning staff writer and beauty obsessive who joined The Times-Tribune’s Lifestyles department in 2015. She’s a product enthusiast who can’t live without an eyelash curler. A proud Virgo, Charlotte Tilbury Matte Revolution Lipstick in Pillow Talk is her go-to. Contact: gmazur@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9127; @gmazurTT
