Monday, December 6, 2010

Coty Inc. on Animal Testing

After the news came out that Coty Inc. (the parent company of Rimmel, N.Y.C., and Sally Hansen, among many others) had acquired OPI, many nail bloggers posted with concerns about Coty's animal testing policy. I was curious, and decided to look it up myself. However, everything I found was either vague, lacking evidence, or outdated. I didn't want to brush off the animal testing concerns because there was no solid evidence that it occurs, but neither did I want to attack Coty for something it wasn't clear they actually do. So, I went to Coty's comments and questions page and sent in a query as to whether or not Coty does animal testing, hoping for some sort of conclusive answer. While the letter I received today wasn't as decisive as I would have liked, it does make me feel better about continuing to buy Coty products. They did spell my last name wrong, but then again, almost everyone does. ;) Here's the letter in full - I thought about just posting a segment, but I thought it would be more impartial to post the whole thing. I bolded parts I think are particularly relevant.

Dear Ms. Petrovic,


Thank you for your recent inquiry regarding the use of animals in product safety testing. We at Coty Inc. share your respect for life, and we are committed to maintaining the highest possible standards of human safety while eliminating the need for animal testing. 


Coty Inc. does not conduct animal testing. This is accomplished by selecting raw materials of the highest quality with well-established safety records and using extensive ingredient databases, in-vitro testing, computer modeling and studies with human volunteers. In fact, to ensure human safety all our products are clinically tested as needed on humans before they are sold in the marketplace.


Our research and development team has pioneered safety tests and alternative testing methods in order to eliminate the need for animal testing. However, there may be rare occurrences when a government or regulatory agency may indicate to the Cosmetics Industry that an animal study is necessary, where no validated alternative exists, to ensure consumer protection for a component of our products. In such cases, the need for testing is carefully examined by our Industry and if the test must be performed, it is strictly controlled.


Coty Inc. has been actively involved in the search for alternative methods of testing for many years and we support industry research programs such as those conducted by the Johns Hopkins University Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing, the European Chemical Industry Ecology and Toxicology Centre (ECETOC), the European Cosmetic, Toiletry and Perfumery Association (COLIPA) and the Personal Care Products Council (PCPC).


Thank you for taking the time to write to us.


Sincerely,


Corporate Communications


And because it wouldn't be a very interesting post without any pictures, here's what I added to my thumbnail today (I used Orly Luxe for the stripes and added one coat of China Glaze Golden Enchantment on top):

indoors, artificial light

I'm experimenting with watermarking...I don't like this very much. Eh.

Anyway, what do you think about the Coty/OPI animal testing issue, and animal testing in general? Has the letter I got changed your views at all? I'm curious!

12 comments:

  1. Thank you for investigating this. I feel better about it too. Now, to find out what the gov't has to say about demanding animal testing.

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  2. Ya, I've seen this (almost verbatim) letter on other blogs too who've emailed them about animal testing.

    Basically, this says that the government might "make" them do animal testing. VERY WRONG! The government doesn't ever make companies test on animals because we wouldn't have animal testing free companies and products if that were the case.

    So, in my humble opinion, this is a way to "get out of" saying they test on animals so they can test on animals.

    Bah! bunch of crap. I already boycott Sally Hansen and the others and will add OPI until Coty can proudly stick an EARNED no animal testing sticker on all their products.

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  3. Ahhh I could hug you for this post.
    People are all worried about Coty being animal haters, and aren't even considering the fact that their resources are outdated or written by crazies. I'm just asking for some recent video, some pictures, an animal testimony, some deepthroat information from a renegade researcher....something solid where I can be like okay these people are animal haters. Nobody has that evidence, but everyone is demonizing them. What happened to innocent until proven guilty?

    As for their little thingy about how the government may indicate that they have to test on animals, I look at them as using that to cover their butts. There is no law that says that any cosmetic must be tested on animals, but at some point, the government may mandate animal tests for a certain cosmetic. It's unlikely (or as they said, rare), but it could happen...we're living in some crazy times and nobody can tell the future. But if it happens, thanks to that caveat, Coty can make the cosmetic and test it on animals, without having people calling them liars. I hope that made sense.

    In any case, I don't see why people are mad. But if they wanna boycott OPI or whatever, that's okay. As a matter of fact, I hope everyone in the DMV area boycotts OPI (and Sally Hansen).
    Just means moah for me. :D

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  4. Kimberly- You're welcome! I've looked some of that up, and it appears that the FDA does not require animal testing for cosmetic companies...I'd guess that part is something to cover their butts in case the government does require animal testing in the future (which hopefully they don't).

    Lacquer Ware for Tips and Toes- I don't know...I kind of suspect that they just put that in there so that in case they ever are required to do animal testing, people can't call them liars. It's hard to tell what's actually going on, though. Good for you for boycotting, though!

    ChaosButterfly- Haha, thank you! *hugs* I agree that they're just covering their butts with the government part - you know that if that happened and they hadn't said that, people would call them liars. I do think there's still reason to be a little suspicious and watchful of exactly what Coty is doing, but I don't really like how many people have attacked them without doing their own research. If I see evidence that Coty has actually done animal testing that was not absolutely necessary (and by absolutely necessary I mean really, absolutely unavoidable, which is unlikely), then I might change my attitude, but no one's come up with anything like that.

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  5. I think as for me I rather not buy any products from them.... They are affiliated with many Brand / Products that do animal testing. I guess even though NYC cosmetic says they don't do animal testing right directly on their site, they are with Coty so I won't buy any more NYC cosmetic too.

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  6. I definitely understand not wanting to use Coty products any more...I guess
    for me, it's one of those things that I feel like I should take action, but
    I just don't. :/

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  7. I really appreciate that you did the footwork to check this out. Brava!
    I am rather new to nail polish and have worried about being able to stay cruelty-free. I am so glad to know there are some products I can feel good about purchasing. Thanks for shedding some light on this issue.

    Sincerely,

    Alissa Pearce

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  8. You're welcome, and thank you for the thoughtful comment!

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  9. Thank you for posting this!
    I just subscribed to your blog :)
    Best, Valentina.

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  10. You're welcome, and thank you! :)

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  11. Thanx for posting this. I once wrote to Clinique and got similar replly, but in the end I found, that it was not 100% true (some certificates to prove it where missing). However Clinique is now on PETA´s list of non testers so Im pleased : ) Coty I did not find either on testers/non testers list so who knows. I would love to trust your letter as Im fund of my parfume, however animal life means so much more to me...

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  12. So...they say they  DONT test on animals...unless required by 'law'. So they DO test on animals ...conflicting statement there Coty!  The reason they are not on Peta list is because they are so vague, there is no definite answer. 
    However, even if they still test on animals  by law they will have to stop by '13!!

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