Back in 2019, China began moving away from post-market animal testing, which was previously required by law. Today (May 1), the Chinese government enacted the following step in its journey to cruelty-free cosmetics, ending all mandatory animal testing for a majority of general cosmetics.

First announced in March this 12 months, via a notice posted on the National Medical Products Administration website, the change will allow firms to market most imported cosmetics — including shampoo, body wash, lipstick, and makeup — without the formerly required animal testing. It is a pretty significant change, on condition that China is the second-largest cosmetics market after the US, bringing in more than £4 billion in revenue. Previously, cruelty-free firms (equivalent to Fenty Beauty) were restricted from importing products directly, resulting from the requirement that they pay for his or her products to be tested on animals.

Nevertheless, the newly-relaxed regulations don’t mean the tip of animal testing in China. Because the RSPCA points out, they don’t include products classified as “special cosmetics”, which include hair dyes, hair perming products, sunscreens, and anti-hair loss products. Corporations may even must take a series of steps to use for exemptions to the animal testing requirements, and people who don’t qualify can have to proceed paying to check their products on animals.

“We imagine there’s absolutely no justification for causing animals to suffer for testing cosmetics, and consumers across the globe have shown that they feel the identical,” says the pinnacle of the RSPCA’s animals in science department, Dr Penny Hawkins. “Whilst we in fact welcome this step forward for China, globally we still have an extended solution to go before we see our ultimate aim realised of all animal experiments being replaced with humane alternatives.”

The organisation’s international head, Paul Littlefair, also welcomes China’s move to ban compulsory testing, saying: “This move is one other signal that the Chinese authorities are increasingly seeing animal welfare as a vital a part of the country’s development.”