Associations speak out to reassure beauty industry in wake of Brexit

A week on from the EU referendum vote, several beauty industry and small business associations have issued statements to reassure beauty business owners that there is no need to panic as nothing will change in the immediate future.

The CTPA (Cosmetics, Toiletries and Perfumery Association) was quick to remind those in the industry that the UK’s current cosmetics laws will not change until the UK is no longer a member of the EU, stating, “the current legal structure will stay unchanged for the time being – indeed, the process of transitioning will take years.”

The CTPA’s statement highlighted concern that has been expressed over the UK’s animal testing ban and if it will remain in place post-Brexit: “We would like to stress that the UK cosmetics industry voluntarily abandoned animal testing seven years ahead of the EU-wide ban, so you can be assured this is not going to change,” it said.

Meanwhile, Agnes Leonard, president of the National Hairdressers’ Federation, said in a statement to its hair and beauty salon members: “Clearly, if the fall-out from this vote is that Britain’s tips back into a recession that has the potential to be damaging for our industry. But, for the moment, there are so many unknowns – who will be our next Prime Minister, how an exit from the EU might work, whether it will even happen – that it is impossible to be sure what the future holds.”

She advised members to sit tight and keep an eye on the economic and political situation over the next few months, reiterating that a Brexit is not going to happen anywhere near immediately. “In reality nothing on our high streets has changed. Salons should be reassuring clients, and themselves that, for now, it is business as usual. For most salons their market is their local high street. To that end, we don’t anticipate leaving the EU will have that much of a direct impact on our industry,” she said.

“Our feedback suggests that a majority of business owners, even those involved in international trade, supported the leave campaign as a way of freeing them from red tape that was imposed on them. We need an accelerated deregulation programme – vague promises of £10 billion cuts are no longer acceptable - and a beefed up skills programme so that UK workers have the skills needed by local employers”.

Ian Cass, managing director of the Forum of Private Business, called on the country’s leaders to help create a more positive outlook for SME’s by turning Brexit into business opportunities. The Forum laid out 10 points of clear action it would like to see put into place to support a brighter future for the UK’s businesses.

“Our feedback suggests that a majority of business owners, even those involved in international trade, supported the leave campaign as a way of freeing them from red tape that was imposed on them. We need an accelerated deregulation programme – vague promises of £10 billion cuts are no longer acceptable - and a beefed up skills programme so that UK workers have the skills needed by local employers,” said Cass.