Testing cosmetics on animals.

Almost everyone uses cosmetics. Some use it everyday; others only use cosmetics for special occasions. But in general, we want to look healthy and beautiful.
There are a lot of different types of cosmetics: creams, lotions, powders, perfumes lipsticks, nail polish, eye and facial makeup and many other types of products. Everyday more cosmetics are made. We can choose between hundreds of different colours of foundation to find the one that looks best with our skin tone, and there are more than a thousand different lipstick colours.

Before we can buy these products, the companies will test the ingredients carefully to make sure that the consumer can safely use the product. Unfortunately a lot of companies are running these tests on animals.
Methods of testing cosmetics on animals include irritation or corrosion to the skin or eye, dermal sensitization, airway sensitization, endocrine disruption and a lethal dose, which kills 50% of the treated animals.

Since 11th March, no company can carry out new animal tests for cosmetics purposes outside of the EU for products to be sold in the EU. This is a great accomplishment after years of campaigning.
Cosmetic companies can, however, continue to sell products in the EU with ingredients that have been animal tested in the past.
If a product has ingredients, which have been tested after the date the ban came into effect, a company will not be able to market this in Europe.
L'Oreal, one of the biggest cosmetic companies, has protested the proposed ban by lodging a case at the European Court of Justice, asking if the ban can be quashed.

Companies are still able to sell products with animal tested ingredients outside the EU, assuming that the animal testing was done somewhere else in the world, even when these companies are based in the EU.
Over 80% of the world still allows animal testing for cosmetics. Some countries, notably China, require imported products to be tested on animals before they reach the market. Because of this law, lots of companies are due to animal testing.
This is the statement of L’Oreal due to animal testing:
"The L'Oreal group no longer tests on animals, anywhere in the world, and does not delegate this task to others. An exception could be made if regulatory authorities required it for safety or regulatory purposes. In China, the regulatory authorities carry out within their evaluation centers animal tests for finished cosmetics products before these are placed on their market."
They are basically saying that they won't test on animals, unless the country where they want to sell the product requires animal testing.

It's important that we, as consumers, not only see the products, but also see the stories behind them. We want to feel good, look healthy and smell nice, but even if we kill several animals for it? 

http://www.crueltyfreeinternational.org/en/the-solution/animal-testing-f...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Testing_cosmetics_on_animals

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmetics

http://naoki.nl/informatie-over-cosmetica-merken-die-op-dieren-testen/

- Laura van Rossum