All Unity Cosmetics products are cruelty-free.
Is there legislation around animal testing in cosmetics?
Yes. Since 2004 it has been forbidden within the European Union to test cosmetic ingredients on animals. In 2013 this European legislation was expanded — from that point on, the finished product may no longer be tested on animals either. An important expansion of the law, because while ingredient testing is becoming rarer (only new ingredients that have not previously come onto the market need to be tested), end-product testing was still very common and important. Testing ingredients and end products absolutely does not have to be done on animals — there are plenty of alternative testing methods that prevent a lot of animal suffering.
Is it necessary to test a new end product?
Yes. When developing a product these days, ingredients that are already known to be "safe" are often used. Yet it remains very important to test the end product because only that ultimately establishes whether all the ingredients together form a good product. With make-up products, for example, it's important that the product remains stable and shelf-stable for a certain period. A product must not separate; colours and other ingredients have to mix well together. These tests don't require living animals. Unity Cosmetics' end products are tested in the laboratory using test tubes and petri dishes. These tests primarily check shelf life and stability — processes that can be artificially recreated. Simply put, you can add a quantity of bacteria to a product and then observe how its shelf life develops. No animals are ever involved.