For a while now the cosmetics industry has only regulated itself when it came to ingredients in their products. Unless a consumer was ingredient savvy and did the research themselves, carcinogenic ingredients continued to make it onto vanities across the country. For some time now, organizations like the Environmental Working Group's Cosmetic Safety Database and the newly launched Personal Care Truth have been the main source of information on which ingredients post a health risk and which companies continue to use them. Now, Rep. Janice Schakowsky from Illinois has introduced the Safe Cosmetics Act of 2010 into Congress hoping to get the FDA moving to regulate the industry and force cosmetic companies to remove toxic chemicals from their products.
As the organic and all natural beauty niche of the industry continues to grow along with American's interest in "better for you" products and foods, so does the demand for such regulation. Interestingly enough, both the EWG and Personal Care Truth do not agree when it comes to supporting this bill.
"The Safe Cosmetics Act of 2010, as written, will not protect consumers or small businesses. I believe there is a need for reform, however, the Safe Cosmetic Act of 2010 is not the answer. Proponents of this act are telling consumers that we, the opponents, are the fear mongers when in fact, we are supplying truthful information that is backed by scientific facts. We are fighting for our livelihood. If the act passes as written, the American Dream will turn into a nightmare for thousands of small business owners." Lisa Rodgers, Co-Founder of Personal Care Truth and CEO of Cactus & Ivy.
Ms. Rodgers relayed to me that the Bill is vague and that written in its current state, it would also affect natural products that use essential oils like Lavender, which by nature, have trace elements in them that the Bill would consider unsafe. Another example she gave of a product that would be affected that most companies use is cocoa butter.
On the EWG's website, they give many reasons for supporting the Act and including what they feel the benefits are:
"In the big picture, the Safe Cosmetics Act will benefit small businesses by leveling the playing field and increasing consumer awareness about their choices at the store. In the current marketplace, where ingredients are kept secret and toxicity data is inaccessible, consumers are confused and do not have easy access to the information they need to make informed choices. The data and product transparency provisions of the Act will help clear up confusion and give consumers the tools to more easily choose the best and safest products."
While both sides have valid points for supporting and not supporting this Bill, it is clear that both feel that consumers need to be informed when it comes to their beauty products. But how can this be done to ensure small businesses, the bread and butter of our economy, survive AND have cosmetics that are safer without toxins? Please share your thoughts in the comments.
You can read more about this Act:
The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics: The Safe Cosmetics Act of 2010: What it Means for Cosmetics Companies
Personal Care Truth: See posts listed under Legislation to see several viewpoints on it.
Posted by Shannon Nelson on August 17, 2010 3:08 PM
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Comments (5)
Thanks for a great post Shannon! It's refreshing to see both sides of this issue being told since this legislation, if passed as written, will turn the cosmetic industry on its head. Consumers are entitled to all the information available so they can make an informed decision.
Regardless of what side of the issue people support, I hope they will participate in a dialogue here!
Have a great night!
Lisa
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Lisa M. Rodgers |
August 17, 2010 10:31 PM
Posted on August 17, 2010 22:31
Shannon: Thanks for posting this here, and for making the information available at a forum where people can comment. I wanted to just mention that it's not the case that the cosmetics industry has been "regulating itself." That is what people may be hearing about from the supporters of HR 5786, but it's an untrue statement.
The FDA regulates cosmetics and has done a good job of doing so. It is illegal to sell unsafe cosmetics, or to use unsafe ingredients in them, under current law. Ingredients widely used in cosmetics are reviewed by teams of scientists and experts before conclusions are made about their appropriateness for use in cosmetics.
Cosmetics have a very good record of safety, and consumers enjoy using them. While everyone, including me, is in favor of ensuring the safety of the nation's cosmetic supply, the provisions in this bill are not rationally related to that end.
Especially when it comes to small companies, the bill would literally put them out of a job -- because for small business owners, their business is their job.
The bill requires things like reporting your gross annual sales to the FDA, reporting to the FDA when you hire/fire an employee, giving the FDA every single piece of data you have in your possession about a cosmetics ingredient (including books, white papers, email messages, CDs, magazines, etc.), paying an annual fee to make cosmetics (if you gross over $1M a year), listing not only ingredients but also components of ingredients (and more) on each cosmetic label, reporting to the FDA the names and addresses of all of your suppliers (and reporting when you replace one ingredient supplier with another one ... and the list goes on.
While these things may see reasonable at a high level, when you consider the facts and how cosmetics are made, especially on a small scale by our nation's tiniest businesses, you quickly see that the only thing this bill will do is force them to do so much reporting and paperwork that their attention will actually be diverted from safety.
We have started a petition to oppose the bill at this link http://bit.ly/cksugd Over 4,100 consumers, small business owners and other stakeholders have signed it in the past 3 weeks to support reasonable cosmetics law reform. I hope you and your readers will consider doing the same.
Thank you for the opportunity to share.
Donna Maria Coles Johnson
Founder and President
The Indie Beauty Network
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Donna Maria Coles Johnson |
August 17, 2010 11:16 PM
Posted on August 17, 2010 23:16
It was pleasure reading your post! Very Informative for me. Thanks for the share!
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Leah |
August 18, 2010 4:42 AM
Posted on August 18, 2010 04:42
It is worth noting that the EWGs Skin Deep database has no value in that it does not, and cannot assess the true safety of any cosmetic product, being solely based on hazard evaluation. For more details, go to www.personalcaretruth.com and search for "Skin Deep". The EWG may seem altruistic and plausible, but they rely greatly on the distortion of scientific studies and scaremongering to pursue their aims.
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Dene Godfrey |
August 18, 2010 8:35 AM
Posted on August 18, 2010 08:35
The cosmetic industry has been regulating itself? Then why is there an FDA website that tells us everything we can and can't do in regard to our products? http://www.fda.gov/Cosmetics/default.htm. If this were true, we could do whatever we want, which is the furthest thing from the truth.
Please help us to defeat this bill *as written* by supporting the Legislative Advocacy Committee, a non-profit organization formed by the Handcrafted Soapmakers Guild, Inc. http://www.soapguild.org/industry/leg-advocacy.php
Of course we all want possible toxins removed from our personal care and cosmetic products. But destroying the very companies that helped to start the green revolution, to begin with, is hardly the best way to go about it.
By this I mean the many Indie companies that make natural products.
Sonsa Rae, Owner
Sonsa Rae Skincare
www.sonsaraeskincare.com
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Sonsa Rae |
August 19, 2010 2:35 PM
Posted on August 19, 2010 14:35