Safe Cosmetics Act Would Remedy “Broken Regulatory System,” Says CFSC

The Safe Cosmetics Act of 2011 would close gaps in cosmetics safety regulation while being “good for consumers, businesses and innovation,” according to the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics.

In its June 24 release, the activist group welcomed the legislation, which it says would “modernize” outdated regulations that allow consumers to be exposed to “dangerous chemicals.”

“This bill recognizes that consumers have a right to safe personal-care products and that companies have a responsibility to ensure their products are safe,” says Campaign Director Lisa Archer.

While protecting consumer health, the legislation does nothing to discourage innovation, the Campaign maintains.

“We often hear that ‘regulation holds back innovation,’ but when it comes to chemicals used by the beauty industry, the opposite is true,” the group asserts. “Lack of information about cosmetic ingredients is holding back innovation and slowing down the inevitable move to safer products that will benefit health and the environment.”

The Campaign notes that “important changes” have been made in this year’s version of the bill to look out for small companies, “which are innovating many of the safer [ingredient] alternatives already on the market,” it says.

Under the Safe Cosmetics Act of 2011 – which requires manufacturers to register their facilities, products, gross sales and suppliers with FDA –companies with less than $10 million in annual revenue would not have to pay a registration fee, and “microbusinesses” with less than $2 million in revenue would be exempt from registration altogether.

Soap Makers Are “Very Encouraged”

Leigh O’Donnell, president of the Handcrafted Soap Makers Guild, told “The Rose Sheet” June 29 that the trade group has been working closely with representatives from the offices of Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., and the bill’s co-sponsors, and has found them “very helpful” in listening to the needs of small business.

“Last year when [the bill] came out, I think they didn’t really know that we existed. I don’t think they understood that there was an entire industry of businesses out there making cosmetics on a small scale. They were like, ‘Wow! Look at that.’”

Generally, HSMG is “very encouraged” by the provisions the bill’s authors say are included in the 2011 bill to support small businesses.

However, the group has yet to delve into the particulars, as the full text of the legislation was still not publicly available as of June 30.

HSMG, whose members are soapmakers as well as the vendors and suppliers who serve them, was formed in 1998 and “now has members in nearly every U.S. state and territory, and many other countries,” according to the association’s website.

CFSC Awaits “Harmful Substance” Phase-Out

According to the June 24 release from Schakowsky’s office, the Safe Cosmetics Act of 2011 would require manufacturers to list all ingredients on product labeling, including components in fragrances and trace constituents (Also see "Lawmakers Introduce Revamped Safe Cosmetics Act" - HBW Insight, 27 Jun, 2011.).

FDA would be asked to compile a list of prohibited ingredients, and the Department of Health and Human Services would be expected to conduct random postmarket testing for “pathogens or contaminants” in cosmetic products, the bill’s sponsors indicated.

Such activities will “phase out the most harmful substances that are suspected of causing cancer, reproductive harm or other adverse health effects,” according to the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics.

Furthermore, the bill should help to prevent “scandals” such as the Brazilian Blowout health scare earlier this year, the group suggests, citing the rash of adverse-event reports that was linked by regulators to salon use of formaldehyde-containing hair straighteners (Also see "Formaldehyde Frenzy: EWG Calls For FDA Action, OSHA Advises Against Use" - HBW Insight, 18 Apr, 2011.).

The Safe Cosmetics Act of 2011 also would “require data sharing to avoid duplicative testing and encourage the development of alternatives to animal testing,” according to the Campaign.

By Ryan Nelson