An Ugly Dilemma for Beauty Companies

Lisa Lin claimed that China is the only major market where companies must test their mascaras and lotions on animals. That’s created a dilemma for Procter & Gamble that want to sell in the giant market without alienating consumers in countries where public sentiment frowns on such animal treatment.  Most of the companies need to devise separate formulations for China and Europe or produce China-only items. P&G gets about 18 percent of its annual sales from Asia by its products. P&G, the largest seller of beauty and personal-care products in China, chose it for the global launch of its Oceana skin-care brand in January and has introduced products there under the Pantene and Head & Shoulders lines. P&G, which says it doesn’t test on animals unless required by law, has discussed the benefits of non-animal trials with Chinese authorities, it said in a statement. (Business week, 2013)

Reference

Lin, L. (2013), ‘An Ugly Dilemma for Beauty Companies’, Business week, 26 September, Available at: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-09-26/cosmetics-makers-dilemma-animal-testing-rules-differ-in-china-europe (Accessed: 18 February, 2014)