ABOUT THE BRAND
Physician’s Formula is a drugstore makeup and beauty brand.
They have previously confirmed with EthicalPixie that they are Crueltyfree. Here’s the statement from their website:
Physicians Formula does not conduct tests or commission any outside facility to conduct tests that involve the use of animals. The safety of our products is determined using clinical evaluations and human use-trials under the supervision of a Board Certified Dermatologist.
As some of you may have already heard, Physician’s Formula was caught selling in China. Thanks to beauty and skincare influencer, @makeupcrayz for releasing the pictures on IG.
IS IT CRUELTY FREE?
Unfortunately, Physician’s Formula is NOT Cruelty-free anymore. To understand this, please read through this whole post.
WHY IS IT NOT CRUELTY FREE?
Recently, Physician’s Formula products have been found on shelves in China which is really heartbreaking.
Background:
Physician’s Formula is owned by Markwins International Corporation which also owns Wet n Wild Beauty. Just a few months ago, we talked about how Wet n Wild Beauty pulled this exact same stunt(Read this for more info.) I did reach out to Physician’s Beauty back then to confirm and they claimed that they weren’t selling in China.
But as you can see, this has changed and they are selling in China now.
Response from Physician’s Formula:
I have been trying to get in touch with Physician’s Formula customer support for a while now. I have emailed, DMed and also called to get more information. They said the appropriate department will reach out to me, but I haven’t heard anything back. I was hoping they would release a statement, but sadly they haven’t. So I decided to go ahead and share all the information I have with you.
Evidence:
Posts on IG:
Thanks to @makeupcrayz for bringing this information to light!
These images clearly show that Physician’s Formula is being sold in China.
Articles from other CF Bloggers:
While researching, I also came across articles from one other CF Blogger My Bunny Beauty who got a chance to speak with the Physician’s Formula team.
Below is a statement she received from the VP of Marketing at Physician’s Formula.
The brand claims that the products they sell in China are domestically manufactured and produced in China and that those products are not required to be tested on animals. This is exactly what Wet and Wild beauty claimed.
Even though this is true for PRE-MARKET testing, it doesn’t hold true for POST-MARKET testing. As per China’s pre-market testing laws, if the products are manufactured in China, they DO NOT need to be tested on animals.
However, all brands regardless of where they are manufactured, are subjected to POST-MARKET testing on animals incase of any customer complaints ie, cosmetic products can be chosen at random and removed from shelves for “confirmatory” animal testing to ensure that the product on sale to customers is same as formulation approved for sale. This is often done without a company’s knowledge or consent and is impossible for any brand to get exempted from this particular law.
Are there ways to avoid POST-MARKET animal testing?
As of now, there is only one way to avoid POST-MARKET testing ie, if a brand has:
- Products must be domestically produced.
- No special use ingredients.
- SHOULD be part of the Leaping Bunny pilot program.
If a brand doesn’t fall under this category, they cannot avoid POST-MARKET testing.
CONCLUSION
According to ETHICAL PIXIE standards and based on all the facts above, Physician’s Formula is NOT CRUELTY FREE and will be removed from all Ethical Pixie’s Cruelty free lists.
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