Mary Kay and Animal Testing

. . .Another hot topic can be animal testing - we're back on some animal activist "hot lists" and I had a friend ask me about it. This was my response to her and, since then, I found this press release from Mary Kay which backs up what i told her. My response was: "Mary Kay has always been committed to alternatives to animal testing and was one of the main pioneers to find (AND fund with their OWN research money) those alternatives and share them with the cosmetic industry to put an end to those methods having to be used here in the United States. NONE of the products here in the United States are tested in animals. Now we are doing the same in the Chinese market (which is how Mary Kay got back on some hot lists). Mary Kay HAS to comply with the law and only does what testing is required by the Chinese law for the Mary Kay China. Some would say "then don't go into China" but the exciting thing is that BECAUSE we are there, WE HAVE A VOICE and can be part of the discussion and can do there what we did in the United States which is to show the Chinese market that alternative methods ARE available and ARE effective and we are making a difference there by funding that research! We are committed to putting an end to it there as well and they ARE listening. We can't make a difference there avoiding the market and letting them continue their practices with no changes. We have already put an end to it here in the U.S. Let's work on ending it in other countries as well! In the meantime, we have to comply with what is absolutely required by law and will have to deal with being misunderstood by the animal activists in the short term to ultimately be able to make a positive difference there."

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Here is the press release that the company published to address this concern:

Dallas – Mary Kay, a global leader in the beauty industry, is again taking a leadership role on the issue of alternative testing methods for product safety and quality. For more than 20 years, Mary Kay has been a global advocate in the commitment to end animal testing. On December 28, 2011, Mary Kay became the first founding member of the International Outreach Consortium of the Institute for In Vitro Sciences, Inc.(IIVS). This consortium was created with the primary goal of promoting the principles of non-animal safety testing. IIVS is an international organization based in the U.S. dedicated to developing alternative testing methods for product safety around the world. Mary Kay has been active with IIVS since the 1990s and its Science Advisory Panel since 2009.

“This is a passionate issue for us at Mary Kay,” said Dr. Beth Lange, Mary Kay Inc.’s Chief Scientific Officer. “We are deeply committed to the elimination of animal testing, and our record speaks to that. Finding alternatives to animal testing has been and will continue to be a top priority for Mary Kay.”.

In fact, Mary Kay’s commitment to the elimination of animal testing also has been demonstrated over the years by:

• Sponsoring the First International Forum on Cosmetic Technology and Applications – Alternatives to Animal Experimentation for Cosmetics in Beijing in April 2011 organized by the China Cosmetics Research Center in the Beijing Technology and Business University.

• Being one of the first companies to meet with Chinese safety authorities to discuss alternative testing methods.

• Serving as one of the first companies to work directly with dermatology experts used by the Chinese government in their review process of alternative testing in lieu of animal testing for cosmetic products. In fact, Mary Kay sponsored a symposium for dermatologists in China on the use of human clinical methods for product safety in 2007.

• Being one of only two cosmetic companies listed as scientific contributors to the first book in Chinese describing alternative principles and applications.

• Hiring one of the world’s leading scientists on animal alternatives who was one of the founders of IIVS and its former Chief Scientific Officer, as Mary Kay’s principal scientist for product safety.

• Donating hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing at Johns Hopkins University.

• Partnering with the Institute for In Vitro Sciences, Inc. (IIVS) since the 1990s and its Science Advisory Panel in 2009.

“Mary Kay has individually supported a training course about safety testing using non-animal methods by sponsoring a workshop at the IIVS laboratory for Chinese regulatory scientists in 2010,” said Erin Hill, Vice President with the Institute for In Vitro Sciences, Inc.

Mary Kay does not conduct animal testing on its products or ingredients, nor ask others to do so on its behalf, except when absolutely required by law. There is only one country where the company operates – among more than 35 around the world – where that is the case and where the company is required by law to submit products for testing – China.

Lange added: “Mary Kay has been working very closely with the Chinese government for many years now to demonstrate that alternative testing methods ensure safe and effective products. We hope our efforts as the first cosmetics company to join the International Outreach Consortium of the IIVS, along with our long track record of past and present activities, will be instrumental in the Chinese regulatory authority’s evaluation, validation and eventual acceptance and adoption of alternative testing methods.”

http://newsroom.marykay.com/en/releases/mary-kay-leads-efforts-to-pursue-alternative-safety-testing-in-china