Teaching Tip: An Ethical Dilemma for Beauty Companies

Barry Render (2013) claimed that western cosmetics makers are ecstatic about the prospect of continued growth in China’s $32 billion beauty market. China is the only major market where companies must test their mascaras and lotions on animals. That’s created a dilemma for L’Oreal that want to sell in the giant market without alienating consumers in countries where public sentiment frowns on such animal treatment. L’Oreal isn’t about to turn away from China because it gets about 19% of its annual sales from Asia and companies’ shares have been rising as well. Those brands which refuse to do animal tests are blocked from the Chinese market entirely. L’Oreal in a statement said the company always abides with local regulations. Chinese consumer doesn’t think as much about ideals such as animal testing and they care about the price, the brand, and the product.

Reference

Render, B. (2013) ‘Teaching Tip: An Ethical Dilemma for Beauty Companies’, Heizerrenderom, 8 October, Available at: http://heizerrenderom.wordpress.com/2013/10/08/teaching-tip-an-ethical-dilemma-for-beauty-companies/ (Accessed: 12 February, 2014)