Here’s How China Is Moving Away From Animal Testing

China is expected to have the world’s largest cosmetics market in a few years, but some companies have avoided selling beauty products there. That’s because China is also the last major country to require animal testing on many beauty goods, a mandate that puts off some consumers and can harm even non-Chinese sales. The rule applies to all imported cosmetics and covers everything from sun block and skin whitener to deodorant and hair dye. China, however, is moving toward alternatives to animal testing, helped along by nonprofit organizations and cosmetics companies that are training Chinese scientists in substitute methods. New technologies may also accelerate the end of animal testing.

China has gotten a bad reputation for allowing the sale of poor-quality products and fakes. The government takes responsibility for product safety, which puts it under pressure to avoid more black eyes, says April Guo, a cosmetics regulatory affairs manager of Hangzhou-based CIRS. Some labs approved by the Chinese Food and Drug Administration prefer animal testing because they don’t have the capability to carry out alternative methods, for which they need to be trained and certified, she said. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals estimated in 2013 that Chinese companies had tested products on more than 300,000 rabbits, mice and other critters in the previous year.