By Mia Davis
National Grassroots Coordinator of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics
Cancer-causing chemicals in the baby’s bubble bath? Lead in lipstick? Time to get the real story on chemicals in cosmetics!
Today’s a beautiful day for the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics. For starters, we’re launching The Story of Cosmetics, a 7-minute film from the good people at The Story of Stuff Project, Free Range Studios and all of us at the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics. The new video is hard-hitting, honest and fun: It explains the problems with our current system (which allows toxic chemicals into cosmetics and into our bodies, our kids, our waterways) and then outlines clear solutions.
And: today Congress introduced game-changing legislation called the Safe Cosmetics Act! Thanks to overwhelming — no, deafening — consumer demand, members of Congress agree that we need to finally update our 70-year-old cosmetics legislation and close loopholes that allow the cosmetics industry to put unsafe chemicals (and chemicals that have never been assessed for safety) into personal care products like lipstick and baby shampoo.
We couldn’t have picked a better day to launch The Story of Cosmetics. Please watch it, get fired up, and share it widely. We need to turn the volume up even higher so that more people learn about this issue, and tell Congress to support the Safe Cosmetics Act.
Carcinogens in shampoo, BPA in baby bottles – it’s all the same problem
The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics’ efforts to push the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to clean up cosmetics is closely tied to the Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families coalition’s efforts to put common sense limits on toxic chemicals in every day products that are regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency – things like baby bottles and mattresses.
Toxic baby bath bubbles and baby bottles may be regulated by different federal agencies, but these harmful products shine a light on our government’s failure to keep us safe from toxic chemicals.
Consumers spawned a market for safe cosmetic products- and now they are leading the charge on stronger laws
The mainstream cosmetics industry has spent millions to maintain the status quo (i.e. to ensure it can regulate itself), but the writing is on the wall. American consumers have lost their patience with toxic personal care products – especially when they find out that companies marketing the same products in Europe and Japan have stripped out some of these offending chemicals. Is it any wonder that green and clean personal care products are the fastest growing segment of the cosmetics industry? The success of brands like Badger, California Baby, Weleda, Marie Veronique Organics and hundreds of others shows that you can make beautiful products (and profits) without using harmful chemicals. Voting with our dollars and keeping our families safer with nontoxic cosmetics is a great start, but we can’t simply shop out way out of this problem: we need the Safe Cosmetics Act passed in order to truly protect all of us from unnecessary exposures to toxins in cosmetics.
Quick tips
Even with this strong new proposal and loud public support, Congress can’t fix the problem overnight. In the meantime, here are some ways we can lessen exposure to harmful chemicals in personal care products:
- Use fewer cosmetics less often, and choose products with shorter ingredient lists and fewer hazardous synthetic chemicals.
- Avoid the mystery concoction known as "fragrance," made from a dozen or more secret chemicals. Everything has a fragrance these days, from make-up, to candles and even clothes. Check labels carefully; even “fragrance free” products may contain fragrance chemicals to cover up the odor of other chemicals
- Read labels: There are great resources online to help consumers make sense of confusing product labels. One of the best is Campaign for Safe Cosmetics partner, which ranks products for toxicity on a scale of 1-10.
- Click here for yet more tips on avoiding toxic chemicals in every day consumer products.
Thank you
Thanks for watching and sharing the short video, and for all that you do to keep families, workers, and the environment safe!
Comments
First, thank you for sharing such information. It is about time and the people need to know the reality behind these beauty products. Let's continue to encourage people to read articles, blogs, and skin care reviews.
Posted by: Skin Care Reviews | Dec 8, 2011 12:49:31 AM
This is all unbelievable shocking information, I thought that the Government with all its agencies such as the FDA and other similar agencies all inspect and monitor the local manufacturers and imported goods.
Now after this post I don't know who to trust any more it seems that all they care about is Money and profits
and nothing else and if in the process there wife or son or will dye from cancer the hell with it...This is outrageous, the question is what we can do about it, I think that the only way to make a change
Posted by: Stokke High Chair | Sep 30, 2010 5:59:48 AM
Is to publish it in all major media and let the public know about all this.
This is all unbelievable shocking information, I thought that the Government with all its agencies such as the FDA and other similar agencies all inspect and monitor the local manufacturers and imported goods.
Now after this post I don't know who to trust any more it seems that all they care about is Money and profits
and nothing else and if in the process there wife or son or will dye from cancer the hell with it...This is outrageous, the question is what we can do about it, I think that the only way to make a change
Posted by: Sokke High Chair | Sep 30, 2010 5:55:17 AM
is to publish it in all major media and let the public know about all this.
It's just so utterly ridiculous that Congress and the FDA, in part, allowed the health and beauty industry to police itself for so long.
It's like asking the fox to guard the hen house. But it's obvious why it was allowed to go on for so long, i.e. powerful and well funded interest groups and lobbyists, briber, greed, etc.
Posted by: clear skin Ana | Sep 6, 2010 5:14:14 PM
Great informative video and article, I will definitely pass this along to my friends. Even though, I have known about these toxins for years, I believe it is each and every one of us that needs to take action to protect themselves and their families, by being aware!
While I am not so sure if the FDA really is the best source of making sure that these products are safe, I like to encourage everybody to read the ingredients and labels of all the products and question them, if we deem them to be harmful. Only by taking actions can we prevent these enormous problems.
Luckily, there are now companies out there that make better cosmetics and personal care products. Searching the internet is a good source to begin with.
Great article and information Mia, keep up the good work.
Posted by: Peter | Aug 25, 2010 7:30:45 AM
I've long known of this problem, the chemicals contained in cosmetics may cause cancer. My wife and I are always wary when buying baby products. As you write above, that there are also chemicals in baby shampoo.
Posted by: Alexander | Aug 11, 2010 10:55:39 PM
Thank you because you've given me very useful tips.
Great post and video. It is so true that people today when they think of nutrition and a healthy lifestyle, seem only concerned about what they eat and getting to the gym. Important, sure, but what about all that stuff that comes in contact with our skin. This also gets absorbed into our bodies.
Health skin care, hair care and cosmetic companies do exists, you need to search for them, check then out, and switch to products, that are not dangerous to yourself and your family.
Posted by: Laurie Rosco on Healthy Skin Care | Jul 26, 2010 4:20:30 PM
I think it's important to remember that not only did this all begin based on the 1950s mindset, as is stated at the 4 min 47 second mark, but so too are the test methods we use to evaluate these chemicals.
The larger problem we are facing is that we have "tested" and deemed "safe" tens of thousands of chemicals on animals only to find that the some results are not accurate. It's time to use human-relevant non-animal testing practices as outlined by the National Academy of Sciences report, "Toxicity Testing in the 21st Century: A Vision and a Strategy in 2007."
The potential for chemical reform is quite exciting, but it should be done in a way that doesn’t sacrifice millions of animals (for toxicity testing) in the name of better protection for human health and the environment. We need Congress to mandate and create market incentives to use nonanimal methods and tests.
Posted by: Rihana | Jul 23, 2010 10:00:32 AM
Wow this is amazing. I am from Canada but found some really useful information that is world wide here!!!
Posted by: Lynne Gawley-Hofstetter | Jul 21, 2010 12:31:57 PM
thank you so much.
Very Scary!!!!
