Shiseido Stops Testing Its Products On Animals (Well, Sort Of)

As previously reported, the European Union is working toward a ban of animal testing on cosmetics, meaning that all products manufactured within the EU will be cruelty-free, and any products manufactured elsewhere that do test on animals will be banned. This ban stands out like a beacon of of, erm, brightening serum in a global beauty industry where animal testing sadly still exists.

In an effort to comply with the EU's efforts, Japanese skin care and makeup brand Shiseido has banned the testing of their products on animals — well, mostly. While we applaud Shiseido's move towards being cruelty-free (one that likely wasn't easy, as they will be missing out on revenue from the Chinese market, which requires animal testing), we admit that we're raising an eyebrow at the fact that the company will resort to animal testing in the "rare" instance that an ingredient is thought to be unsafe.

We appreciate Shiseido's moving towards animal testing only as an absolute last resort, and we acknowledge that staying on the cutting edge of science means that ingredients do need to be tested. However, we're looking forward to a day where the quest towards beautiful skin doesn't involve animal cruelty at all. We're impressed by the European Union's efforts to truly set a standard in the global beauty market. (Now, can we get some movement on that on this side of the pond?)