China Focus: Our top stories featuring China’s cosmetics industry

1 - Chinese blogger escalates dispute with Estée Lauder with lawsuit​

A well-known Chinese blogger, Hao Yu, claims that he is suing the Estée Lauder Companies​, after alleging that its luxury brand La Mer was responsible for misleading advertising.

Hao, who is also known as “Doctor Big Mouth”, announced that he has filed a civil lawsuit against the beauty conglomerate to his 1.2m followers on Weibo.

According to documents Hao posted on Weibo, the blogger is seeking a refund as well as damages from the Estée Lauder Cos totalled at 5,800yuan ($844).

In addition, he has also demands that Estée Lauder Cos publish a public apology in a newspaper.

2 - China continues to open its market by reducing import tax rate for luxury cosmetics.​

The Chinese government announces that it will cut the import tax for high-end cosmetics​ to 50% effective from November 1 in bid to make its market more hospitable.

In a statement published by the State Council Tariff Commission, the Chinese government announced decided to adjust the tax rate for import goods and taxes.

The announcement was accompanied by a single-page document listing goods that will be affected by the adjustments. Besides premium cosmetics, other luxury goods affected by the taxes include watches, wine, jewellery and golfing equipment.

3 - L'Oréal and Tmall partner to develop line of male beauty products for China​

L'Oréal China has deepened its partnership with Alibaba’s Tmall to develop a male beauty line​ tailored just for the Chinese market, with the help of data-driven consumer analytics.

As part of the deal, L'Oréal’s Chinese division will have the backing of the Tmall Innovation Centre (TMIC).

4 - China’s compulsory animal-testing for cosmetics may take more than five years to stop​

Although China has made significant strides in moving away from animal-testing, its challenges suggest it may take more than five years​ for the country to completely stop compulsory animal-testing for cosmetics, says one analyst.

Hedy He, regulatory analyst and editor of ChemLinked told Cosmetics Design Asia: “In the short term a total ban on animal testing is unlikely given the lack of testing infrastructure and the technical capacity shortcomings of the industry.”​

5 - Cosmetics face stricter regulation as China’s CBEC rules set to change​

Cosmetic products imported via cross-border e-commerce (CBEC) into China look set to require registration​ with the China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) before they can be imported into the country from next year.

Reliable sources have unofficially confirmed that China is certain to implement CBEC changes as early as January 1 next year.

The requirement would apply to products that have not be registered after the new regulations have been put in place, regardless of how long they have been sold on e-commerce platforms like Tmall and JD.