Cruelty-free

All Unity Cosmetics' products are not tested on animals.

Is there legislation on animal testing of cosmetics?

Yes, there is. Since 2004, it is forbidden in the European Union to test ingredients of cosmetic products on animals. In 2013, this European legislation has been extended; from that moment on, even the end product may no longer be tested on animals. This is an important expansion of the law, because although testing of ingredients is becoming less common (only new ingredients, which have not yet come onto the market, must be tested), testing of a finished product is still very common and important. The testing of ingredients and end products does not have to be done on animals at all; there are plenty of alternative testing methods that can prevent a lot of animal suffering.

Is it necessary to test a new end product?

Yes, it is. When developing a product these days, ingredients are often used that are already known to be 'safe'. However, it is very important to also test the end product because this will ultimately determine whether all the ingredients together make a good product. With make-up products, for example, it is important that the product has a certain shelf life and that it remains stable. A product may not 'silt up', colours and other ingredients must mix well. No live animals need to be used for these tests. Unity Cosmetics' products are tested in the laboratory using test tubes and Petri dishes. These tests primarily test shelf life and stability. These are processes that can be imitated artificially. In simple terms, you can add a quantity of bacteria to a product and then determine how the shelf life develops. No animals are ever involved.

Can make-up be properly tested without using live animals?

Yes, it can. In order to test new ingredients in make-up without using live animals, skin culture tests on artificial skin (also called EpiSkin) are generally used. Since make-up generally does not use highly irritating substances (legislation has laid down strict rules about which ingredients can/can't be used in cosmetics), other methodologies (e.g. using offal to see what impact an ingredient has on the skin) are not necessary.

For end products, the make-up industry often uses laboratories (petri dishes) when it comes to shelf life and stability. When it comes to how a product 'feels and spreads', human test subjects are often used. It is not so much about testing the safety aspects but more about finding out a preference for certain product characteristics.

It is clear that the relationship between cosmetics and animal testing is becoming less and less obvious, especially within the European Union.

If you want to know more about non-animal testing of cosmetics, just google the term 'eurl ecvam', which is the name of the body that was founded in 2011 within the European Union to develop non-animal testing methodologies.

Are Unity Cosmetics' products free of animal testing?

Yes, they are. All Unity Cosmetics products are manufactured within the European Union. This is a conscious choice, because it ensures that no animal tests are conducted and that the work is safe. The European factories that manufacture our products have completed a questionnaire in which they explicitly state that they do not work with ingredients that have been tested on animals. And when end products must be tested, they are tested in laboratories (petri dishes, test tubes, bacterial tests) and on human subjects when it comes to testing the way a product 'lubricates' or 'feels'.