New Federal Bill Package Will Make Safer Beauty Available to All

WASHINGTON, July 29, 2021 (Newswire.com) - The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, a project of Breast Cancer Prevention Partners, is leading the charge on four new bills set to be introduced in Congress this summer to make beauty and personal care products safer for everyone.

The Safer Beauty Bills cover almost every aspect of cosmetic safety. They are: 

• The Toxic-Free Beauty Act: Bans 11 of the most toxic chemicals including mercury, formaldehyde, parabens, phthalates, phenylenediamines, and PFAS "forever" chemicals.
• Cosmetic Safety Protections for Communities of Color and Salon Workers: Defends the health of women of color and salon workers, two vulnerable populations who are among the most highly exposed to toxic chemicals.
• Cosmetic Fragrance and Flavor Right to Know Act of 2021: Requires the disclosure of secret, unlabeled and often toxic chemicals in personal care products.
• Cosmetic Supply Chain Transparency Act: Requires suppliers of raw materials, ingredients, and private label products to provide full ingredient disclosure and safety data to cosmetic companies so they can make safer products.

"I am proud to announce the Safer Beauty Bill Package today with my colleagues Congresswomen Matsui, Fletcher, and Blunt-Rochester," said Rep. Jan Schakowsky (IL-09). "These four bills will help ensure that cosmetics are safe for consumers and workers from production to product use."

Breast cancer, learning disabilities, early puberty, reproductive and development harm are all on the rise, and hundreds of scientific studies show it's due in part to our ongoing daily exposure to toxic chemicals lurking in our homes, workplaces, and our communities—including our beauty and personal care products. 

"Toxic cosmetic exposures are of particular concern to Black women because we purchase and use more beauty products per capita than any other demographic and face many health disparities, including the highest breast cancer mortality rate of any U.S. racial or ethnic group," said Dana Johnson, with WE ACT for Environmental Justice.

The U.S. law that governs the $100 billion beauty industry is only two pages long and hasn't been significantly updated for 83 years. Companies can use virtually any raw material in a finished cosmetic product without FDA pre-market safety testing or review.

"The Toxic-Free Beauty Act puts consumer and worker health first by addressing a shameful double standard that allows companies to sell cosmetic products in the U.S. that contain chemicals banned by the European Union," said Janet Nudelman, Director of BCPP's Campaign for Safe Cosmetics.  

"I am proud to co-lead The Cosmetic Safety for Communities of Color and Professional Salon Workers Act with Rep. Schakowsky to ensure meaningful protections for women of color and salon workers," said Rep. Blunt-Rochester. "This bill will ensure communities are aware of the risks, create safer alternatives, and include communities of color in reviewing product ingredients for true impact in decisions affecting their health and safety."

"Nail and hair salon professionals, who are predominantly low-wage earners, immigrants, and women of color, are exposed daily to a toxic array of dangerous chemicals without their knowledge or consent," said Swati Sharma, with the California Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative. "This bill will help ensure products are safer and more transparent for these two extremely at-risk, vulnerable populations."

"Small and large cosmetic companies alike are at the mercy of a supply chain that lacks transparency and accountability for the safety of the ingredients it provides us. We as businesses can and must offer safer products to our customers," said David Levine, with the American Sustainable Business Council. 

"Fragrances are prolific in beauty and personal care products, yet there is no state or federal regulatory oversight of these ingredients. In fact, the fragrance industry is virtually self-regulated," said Amber Garcia, with Women's Voices for the Earth.

"I am proud to join Rep. Schakowsky in announcing the Cosmetic Fragrance and Flavor Ingredient Right to Know Act of 2021, which would ensure transparency and accountability from cosmetics manufacturers," said Rep. Matsui. "This important bill would mirror California's first in the nation law, which empowers consumers to know what they're putting on and in their bodies."

CONTACT: Erika Wilhelm, BCPP, erika@bcpp.org

Source: Breast Cancer Prevention Partners