China Ends Animal-Testing But It Won’t Help Cruelty-Free Brands
Here’s Why Marketing To Millennial and Gen Z Chinese Consumers Using Social Concerns Can Make Or Break An Entry To Market
Fenty Beauty Launched in 2017 but wouldn’t enter the Chinese market for two whole years —
This post covers some extensive information about the path China took to allowing cruelty-free brands into their country. We start with Fenty beauty and cover the new government regulations. I then ask, should Fenty Cosmetics have avoided entering China, altogether? Finally I reveal some marketing tips; if animal welfare isn’t at the top of the Chinese consumers list, what is?
Ethics Or Money, The Case Of Fenty Beauty
The Chinese beauty market ranks as the second-largest, globally, after the United States. If a vegan company aspired to tap into that lucrative market, they would’ve had to make some hard choices. Deciding to forgo the second-largest market in the world to maintain brand ethics meant the loss of huge financial opportunity.
This was the case for Fenty Beauty in 2017. The brand didn’t enter the market because of Chinas’ requirement that cosmetics, sold in-country, would need to be animals tested. If Fenty had entered the market when they first launched, it could’ve been seen as a betrayal.
For a cruelty-free brand to enter China, it isn’t going to appear authentic. Essentially agreeing to test in China, nullifies any brand’s cruelty-free positioning world-wide. Some might argue differently. As someone who cares for animal welfare, it doesn’t make the brand seem very trustworthy to me.
I want to momentarily bring up that your favorite cruelty-free brands can be manufactured in China. As long as the brand isn’t selling its products in-country, there are no requirements for them to complete animal testing. But, while I was researching for this article, I did find that some notable cruelty-free brands do sell in China.
This is an example of the language a company might use to explain the discrepancy in values:
“Not tested on animals unless required by law.”
Which BOF says is a stance used by big brands like L’Oréal, Estée Lauder, MAC, Benefit, and Nars. Does this feel unauthentic to you or is it just me?
It does give me pause. Unless you’re an avid reader of beauty regulations within international markets, you would remain unaware that your favorite cruelty-free brand might not be so cruelty-free after-all.
Pushing out enough products to supply the entirety of the Chinese market is no small feat.
New Testing Policies Are On The Agenda For 2021
Soon, a new law could change the game. Taking effect on January 1st, 2021 the China’s Cosmetics Supervision and Administration Regulation (CSAR) will replace the dated Cosmetics Hygiene Supervision Regulations (CHSR), that currently regulates the market. For many cruelty-free brands that are seeking to enter the Chinese market, this could be their big break.
TotallyVeganBuzz.com reports, “The new version, which will come into force on 1 January 2021, indicates that general cosmetics will no longer be subjected to mandatory animal testing and will be replaced by safety assessments regardless of whether they are produced in the country or imported.”
A lot of westerners might view the Chinese government as taking too long to stop it’s animal testing practices. I can be sympathetic to its long-held hesitation. TotallyVeganBuzz quotes Julia Fentam of Unilever, (who has been working on Chinese regulation policies for a decade now), “But if you’re a government official you have a huge responsibility for millions and millions of consumers, and that inhibits change.”
I identify as a social activist, so it’s really easy to lay down the red tape and want everyone to hop to the correct side. But I always keep in mind one key factor: culture.
The social concerns, manufacturing practices, and political structure of any country are going to raise all sorts of hurdles for businesses to jump over.
Fenty Enters The Chinese Market Via Shaky Loophole
Fenty would eventually enter the Chinese market in late 2019. The brand would use the loophole available to cruelty-free brands. The cosmetic company muscled into the market via cross-border e-commerce retail.
Cross-border e-commerce retailers don’t have to register with Chinese authorities before listing; allowing the sale of products sans animal testing. But it’s not a perfect solution, Chinese authorities can still test the products of their own accord during post-market testing.
But even with the loophole found, Fenty’s LVMH backed entry would fall flat. Fenty built a compelling brand image by adopting a cruelty-free stance in the states. But animal rights might not have the same advantageous positioning amongst Chinese shoppers. USC Annenberg implies that it’s rare for the average Chinese consumer to attentive to cruelty-free cosmetics.
It’s also worthwhile to mention that America’s multi-racial makeup is not similarly mirrored within China. The fan fair for a skin-tone inclusive product would be lost on the Chinese market.
Inclusivity and animal rights just doesn’t rank highly on the list of Chinese consumers’ social concerns. This bit of information then begs the question, why did Fenty even enter the market, to begin with?
What do you think, was Fenty aiming too high?
Marketing To The Chinese Millennial and Gen Z Consumer Values
Linkfluences says brands should recognize 7 values when marketing to millennials and Gen Z. Animal rights ranked number seven for the Chinese consumer. While the barriers to entry may be toppling, it doesn’t mean brands will be successful. A “cruelty-free” label alone won’t be a suitable strategy to use when appealing to Chinese consumers.
USC Annenberg states this about the Chinese Consumer, “They are concerned more about whether cosmetics are natural, green, or organic due to the rising of environmental pollution issues, such as the haze.”
Linkfluences 2019 social research, shows the top social concerns brands should acknowledge when marketing to Millennials and Gen Z Chinese consumers are:
- Feminism
- Sustainability
- Environmental Protection
When you look closely at the political, cultural, and environmental social concerns in China today, the ranking hierarchy makes sense.
A Shifting Chinese Beauty Industry
The sands are shifting in China with the future introduction of new legislation. Although, it might take a while for Animal Rights to move up in the list of social concerns consumer cares about.
Animal activists can have hope though, because of the new legislation and an increasingly international Chinese population. Business of Fashion comments, that the Chinese consumer who does care about animal rights, “tend to be an increasingly international population of young people who have encountered the philosophy overseas.”
Again, I think it’s important to keep in mind that it’s not that the Chinese Millennial consumer doesn’t care about animal rights — so much as they could just be unaware of the significance it holds in Western culture.
At the moment, positioning a brand as Cruelty-free might not be as comparatively effective in China as it is in the West. Brands could; however, try feminism, sustainability, or environmental protection- all equally important social concerns.
