In June we told you about our new ground-breaking pilot project to enable Leaping Bunny cruelty free companies to enter the market in China and stay true to their non-animal testing ethos. I’m delighted to say that this week we’ve taken the next amazing step along the road.

On Tuesday, together with our partners Oriental Beauty Valley, Shanghai Fengpu Industrial Park and Knudsen&Co we gathered in London to announce the first Leaping Bunny companies that will be part of this collaborative venture.

The four companies are longstanding Leaping Bunny brands Bulldog Skincare, Neal’s Yard Remedies, Seventh Heaven and Subtle Energies. Leaping Bunny certification currently excludes export to China because of existing mandatory animal testing for imported cosmetics. These companies have resisted the temptation of the huge Chinese market because they want to stay cruelty free. We’re thrilled that our new pilot project will provide certainty to these Leaping Bunny brands that they will be able to maintain their cruelty free status while pursuing domestic production in China free from the risk of post-market testing.

The response we received from cruelty free companies looking to enter the market in China was fantastic. We also know there is great demand from consumers in China for cruelty free cosmetics. We hope the success of this pilot will pave the way for more and more Leaping Bunny brands to sell in China, and that through mutual efforts we will achieve our goal not only of cruelty free companies trading on the Chinese market but also of working together to secure regulatory change in China. Getting that change will take us one huge stride forward to a world without cosmetics animal testing.