Chemicals linked to cancer and birth defects do not belong in products we use on our bodies. Period.

However, some popular brands of shampoo, nail polish, aftershave, face cream and other everyday products contain these dangerous chemicals.

Why? Our government does not require safety tests for cosmetics, like they do for prescription drugs and food. And our government does little to regulate chemicals at all.

The good news is: Safer products are the latest trend in health and beauty!

The European Union (EU) has a new law that requires cosmetics companies to remove chemicals linked to cancer and birth defects from personal care products by September 2004. When they reformulate their products in the EU, these companies could make these safer products available to their other customers around the world as well.

That's why the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics is calling on all cosmetics and personal care companies to protect our health by phasing out the use of chemicals linked to cancer, birth defects and other health concerns in every market they serve.

Take action today to demand safer products!

More Information on Chemicals and Cosmetics:
The average person might be surprised to know that when they use everyday products like shampoo, cologne, deodorant, shaving cream and cosmetics, they may be exposing themselves to a cocktail of untested chemicals, many of which have been linked to cancer, birth defects and other health harms.

According to industry estimates, on any given day a consumer may use as many as 25 different cosmetic products containing more than 200 different chemical compounds. While chemicals in any one consumer product alone are unlikely to cause harm, we are repeatedly exposed to industrial chemicals from many different sources on a daily basis, including cosmetics and personal care products.

89% of the 10,500 ingredients used in personal care products have not been evaluated for safety by the Food and Drug Administration, the Industry-appointed Cosmetic Ingredient Review panel, or anyone else.

In the United States, major loopholes in federal law allow the $20 billion a year cosmetics industry to put unlimited amounts of chemicals that have been linked to cancer and reproductive harm into personal care products. In fact, the FDA does not review what goes into cosmetics before they are marketed, cannot compel companies to provide health effects data and cannot recall personal care products without a court order.

Some chemicals found in a variety of cosmetics - including phthalates, acrylamide, formaldehyde and ethylene oxide - are listed by EPA and the state of California as carcinogens or reproductive toxins.

The cosmetics industry uses more than 5,000 chemicals in its products, in everything from lipstick and lotion to shampoo, shaving cream and eyebrow removers. Many of these substances used as surfactants, emulsifiers, foaming agents, preservatives, plasticizers, dyes and abrasives are also used in industrial manufacturing processes to grease gears, clean industrial equipment, stabilize pesticides and soften plastics. 

Where can known and suspected carcinogens and reproductive toxins be found?

The Good News: New European Law Works to Make Products SaferThe European Union has begun a promising trend for safer personal care products.

In January 2003, the European Union amended their Cosmetics Directive to ban the use of chemicals that are known or strongly suspected of causing cancer, mutation or birth defects from cosmetics. The amendment went into force on September 21st, 2004, requiring cosmetic companies to remove these chemicals from all personal care products sold in the European Union.

The Solution: Make Safer Products Available Globally
Companies like Procter & Gamble, Revlon and Estee Lauder create the same name brands of perfumes, hair gels, nail polish and shaving creams for both the European and U.S. markets. When these companies reformulate for the European Union, they could make these safer products available globally.

However several major U.S. manufacturers have said that they were not planning to sell the safer reformulated products in the U.S. and other markets around the world.

The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics is asking companies to make safer, reformulated products readily available in the U.S. and in every market they serve—because everyone has a right to safe and healthy products!

Take Action Today for Safe Cosmetics!

About the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics:
The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics is a coalition of public health, educational, religious, labor, women’s, environmental and consumer groups. The mission of the the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics is to protect the health of consumers and workers by requiring the health and beauty industry to phase out the use of chemicals that are known or suspected to cause cancer, genetic mutation or reproductive harm.

Founding organizational members of the campaign include: Friends of the Earth, The Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow, The Breast Cancer Fund, Commonweal, Environmental Working Group, National Black Environmental Justice Network, National Environmental Trust, and Women’s Voices for the Earth.

Visit the Safe Cosmetics website for more information: www.safecosmetics.org.