There was once a day when the makeup community was driven by a passion and love for makeup. And makeup empire Nars, being one of the most highly acclaimed brands in the US, once prided themselves on the fact that they were a cruelty-free brand. All of this has seemed to have gotten lost in translation as Nars had made the decision to expand their market to China, which, by Chinese law, requires them to test their products on animals.
It has been argued that yes, the company is being forced to test on animals, despite their previous stance against it. Yet we must ask: Does the company truly need to enter the Chinese market? If they were as passionate as they made themselves out to be about the topic, they would avoid animal testing at all costs, wouldn't they?
As expected, this news has caused some serious backlash from the beauty community. It has called into question the ethics behind these big businesses and whether the decision to be a cruelty-free brand was simply a ploy to encourage people to buy their products. Kat Von D, a beauty guru with over 700,000 YouTube subscribers, six million Instagram followers and her own successful makeup brand, said, "it wouldn't feel right to not say something," and that "using this as an excuse to elevate artistry" is unacceptable.
Interestingly enough, Nars had released a public statement in regards to their decision to expand into the global market, which was ironically prompted with "the global elimination of animal testing needs to happen." However, actions speak louder than words. The reality of really anything is that no one can truly force you to do anything. For the sake of all of the animals that now need to suffer, Nars did not need to expand. Being one of the biggest (and most expensive) brands in the US, it is safe to assume that this choice was not out of necessity.
It has even been proven that there are more effective ways to test out makeup products, and animal testing can even be unreliable. The morally correct thing for US companies that want to expand into international markets that have questionable and unethical regulations is to pressure those countries into changing.
As the world has come to see the lack of value in animal testing, Nars could wait until their policies had changed before entering their markets or they could continue to persuade and convince the Chinese government that there are simply other (better) ways to ensure that products are safe without harming animals in the process. Paralleling to drug tests on animals, PETA.org, the largest animals rights advocacy group in the world, claims that "of the small percentage of drugs approved for human use, half end up being relabeled because of side effects that were not identified in tests on animals," showing just how unreliable animal testing can be.
So in the wake of this news, what can we do to help? For starters, boycott Nars and their decision. "We hear you" is what Nars claims on their Instagram page, so let us be heard. Take your disapproval to the comment section and support all of the YouTubers who have used their platform to voice their opinion on this matter. Animal testing is unethical, regardless of any business opportunity.
