New cosmetics Bill in South Korea has regulatory 'loopholes', says HSI

HSI’s #BeCrueltyFree South Korea team have been involved in the negotiations of the Bill that marks an initial milestone towards ending animal testing of cosmetics in the country.

However, campaign director Claire Mansfield, who met with Congresswoman Moon Jeong-Lim and officials last week tells CosmeticsDesign-Asia.com that whilst this introduction of the bill is a good first step, it is important not to exaggerate its scope.

"It is not a full test ban, it is instead a mandatory alternatives bill and therefore not equivalent to the robust test bans we have in the European Union, Israel or India​," she tells this publication.

Suggestion to bring methods in line with EU, didn't make the final draft​

Mansfield's team has been working with the Congresswoman over the past two years and says that they discussed potential changes to the draft version to bring it in line with the precedents set by the EU, Israel and India; all of which banned animal testing regardless of the status of alternatives.

"​I noted that the draft was only a mandatory alternatives bill and not a complete cosmetics animal testing ban and that additionally it contained several loopholes which would allow animal testing even where gov’t approved alternatives were available​," Claire tells Cosmetics Design.

The campaign director adds that Moon had told the HSI team that she appreciated their suggestions and would 'see what could be done'.

"Unfortunately, the final bill draft that was launched this week remained a mandatory alternatives bill with additional loopholes​," Mansfield informs this publication.

'There's still time to close the loopholes'​

According to the Humane Society International, the current bill exempts several product categories and types of ingredients from the scope of the ban, including preservatives, colourants and sunscreen chemicals.

It would also allow cosmetics tested on animals to meet mandatory requirements in other countries to be sold in Korea.

"Obviously the bill has not yet been voted on and there is still time as it goes through the legislative process to potentially make changes,​" says Claire.