The one with THE LAW!

Now the law within Europe vs the law outside of Europe.

"A man's respect for the law and order exists in precise relationship to the size of his pay check"- Adam Clayton

European Laws

The law within Europe was recently changed in March 2013. The new law states that animal product can not be sold if it has been tested on an animal and the testing of ingredients for products has also been band as of March 2013.
However there are a handful of companies that will buy their ingredients from companies who've tested outside of the EU therefore they are not technically breaking the law because they themselves have not tested on the ingredients on an animal and haven't broken the law when it comes to it being tested within the EU. Now many companies will often try to trick you with the wording of their label's, this is something to look out for when searching for products or when you are emailing a company about a product. If the company states that 'we don't test our products on animals' in other word they mean 'we haven't tested our product on animals however our good friends in China have in fact tested our ingredients and gave them to us for a great price' or there's the 'this company does not test on animals' meaning 'we once gain gave the products/ ingredients we want to use to people who will do it for us outside the EU'. This shows that there are still many way that a company will try to avoid being caught out by the law yet still remain within legal terms because they technically have warned you that they themselves don't test yet it doesn't mean to say that others don't do it for them.
Yet there are still many companies that remain under the EU law that WILL NOT test on animals.

Other Laws

However those who live in the EU are quite lucky if they wish to live a life where they don't have to use animal makeup products. However China recently made a break through when it came to product testing in July 2014 mandatory testing on makeup products or ingredients that were clamed to be simple products like makeup or shampoo had come to an end. The law in China now states that if the product was made in China then it will not need to go through animal testing rather they can use alternative methods. But yes there's a but, if a product is shipped in from another country then it is mandatory for them to test their products on animals as China claims they do not know where the products have come from and do not know if they are safe for the public to use. This means that times are changing and people are starting to realise how unnecessary it is for us to be harming animals.

Yet there is still an issue when it comes to companies in the EU selling to places like China. Now seeing as China still requires foreign products to be tested, many EU companies will chose to sell to China and have the Chinese Authorities test the products on animals themselves. Now the loophole they jump through to lie to you is easy to spot. If you are going to purchase a product that states 'we do not test on animals unless legally required to' then it means 'we like China and we like money therefore this product was tested on an animal'.

Emailing to catch

If you have any problems when it comes to finding out if a product tests on animals or if you believe that they might, then there is NO HARM in emailing them asking a few questions. Now obviously no one likes to admit to killing the animals for lip-gloss, so they will try to trip you up and jump on or two questions, the best way to catch them out is to word your questions as carefully as the word their answers.

Do you test your products or ingredients on any animals?

Do you have a parent company?

If so do the test their products or ingredients on animals? Do they purchase ingredients or products that may have been tested on animals?

Do you buy ingredients or products from companies outside of the European Law?

Do you sell to China or any other country that requires you to test your products or ingredients on animals?

Are you certified or associated with PETA?

Will you ever consider using animals for testing your products or ingredients in the future?

I know they seem repetitive but they are the best way to catch companies out because they are so repetitive but it's better to be safe than sorry.


-Zurine :)