The use of beauty products can be traced back to 4,000 BC where the early cosmetics and beauty regimes depended on natural ingredients such as berries, charcoal and bugs to create different colors. The early beauty treatments also used the available natural resources to create scrubs and pastes. In the late 19th century, the cosmetic industry became a significant as well as a viable profession for women, particularly for the American women who developed products that were meant for different hair textures (Gardner, 2017). There are various types of products which are applied to various parts of the body. The common types of cosmetic products include mascara, eye shadow, eyeliner and eyebrow pencil which are applied around the eye region. Lipsticks and lip gloss are common products that are applied to the lips while powders, foundations and concealers are applied on the face. The nail polish and gloss are common cosmetics for the nails while gels, ointments and lotions are applied to the rest of the body. These products may contain common ingredients such as alpha and beta hydroxyl acids, phthalates, diethanolamine, color additives, parabens, fragrance, and talc (FDA, 2018).
Different companies have sprung up over the years that deal with cosmetics such as Shiseido and L'Oréal which are among the biggest companies which focus on beauty products. L'Oréal is the largest cosmetic personal care company which is located in Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine France. The company specialized in skin care, make-up, sun protection, perfume, and hair care and color. On the other hand, Shiseido is a one of the oldest Japanese multinational personal care cosmetic company which specializes in the production of skin and hair care, fragrance and cosmetics. Additionally, the regulations in China require animal testing of cosmetics that are both imported and manufactured domestically for safety purposes. The main reason for this regulation is that they want to ensure the safety of the product since the government, and not the manufacturer, is tasked with the burden of ensuring product safety of cosmetics. However, the country is slowly moving towards the non-animal testing regulation (Siegel, 2017). Additionally, some regulations have been imposed on the imports and exports of cosmetic products in China. One of the main regulations was that the manufacturers who wanted to export their products to the country must sign an agreement where they will allow their products to be tested on animals. The authorities, however, allow exceptions of few methods which are cell-and-tissue-based as alternatives to animal testing for makeup (Seidle, 2017).
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There is a global campaign that has been created with the aim of ending cosmetics testing on animals which is rapidly spreading throughout the world. For instance, the endorsement of the Humane Cosmetics Act bill that would increase the motion in making sure that animals are not harmed during the creation or testing of beauty products has gained popularity. Many countries such as Norway, European Union, India and Israel have already banned the testing of beauty products on animals (Miller, 2014). Despite the noble attempts put in by different countries, there are some cosmetic companies that still do not adhere to the ethical practices that have been established. For instance, L’Oréal branches such as Yves Saint Laurent were accused of using microbeads on their cosmetics except for exfoliants and shower gels even after the ingredient was banned. This unethical behavior raises questions on whether the multinational companies will adhere to the regulation and ban the use of animals in testing their cosmetic products on different markets to gain extra profit. Therefore, despite the fact that multinational corporations such as L’Oréal provide cheap products, contribute majorly to the economy’s increased need for foreign currency and have a universal appeal, they may cause great impact on the country’s economy if they fail to adhere to the regulations or if they take part in unethical practices and end up being banned from exporting to other countries.
References
FDA. (2018, February 22). Products & Ingredients. Retrieved from https://www.fda.gov/Cosmetics/ProductsIngredients/default.htm
Gardner, S. S. (2017, January 29). History of Makeup. Retrieved from https://www.webmd.com/beauty/history-makeup
Miller, S. (2014, March 5). Federal Bill to End Cosmetics Testing on Animals Introduced in Congress: The Humane Society of the United States. Retrieved from http://www.humanesociety.org/news/press_releases/2014/02/federal_bill_to_end_cosmetics_testing_introduced_in_Congress.html
Seidle, T. (2017, May 30). China, Cosmetic Animal Testing and Cruelty-Free: Untangling the Web. Retrieved from https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/troy-seidle/china-cosmetic-animal-tes_b_10202236.html
Siegel, E. (2017, October 20). The Real Reason So Many Beauty Brands Still Test on Animals. Retrieved from https://www.allure.com/story/why-beauty-brands-still-test-on-animals
