Cosmetics are among the least-regulated products on the market.
According to the FDA’s website, it’s up to individual companies, rather than the FDA, to ensure their products are safe.
Loopholes in federal law allow use of unlimited amounts of chemicals in products without testing, monitoring of health effects, or adequate labeling, Workgroup for Safe Markets reports. Meanwhile, one-third of cosmetic products on the market contain chemicals linked to cancer, and half contain chemicals labeled “toxic,” according to an Associated Press report.
As Ecowatch maintains, nearly 90% of the 10,000 ingredients in personal care products haven’t undergone safety testing.
The average woman is exposed daily to 126 chemical ingredients via personal care products alone, while diseases linked to synthetic chemicals, including breast cancer, are rising.
Under current law (unchanged since 1938), the FDA can’t require cosmetics companies to conduct safety assessments or mandate product recalls.
Loopholes in the Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act of 1938 allow manufacturers to use unlimited amounts of chemicals in their products without requiring testing, monitoring of health effects, or adequate labeling.
The Safe Cosmetics and Personal Care Products Act of 2019 (H.R.4296) will give the FDA authority to ensure that personal care products are free of harmful ingredients by phasing out ingredients linked to cancer, birth defects, and developmental harm. It will also create a health-based safety standard system that will protect both consumers and workers in the cosmetic industry, while providing the funding to the FDA it needs to provide effective oversight of a $50 billion industry that is currently self-regulated.
According to the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, this bill will hold cosmetic companies accountable for the safety of the ingredients in their products. It also bans most animal testing, and addresses over-exposure to toxic chemicals experienced by communities of color and professional salon workers.
If passed, this bill will protect consumers and industry workers, and requires supply chain transparency and industry sharing of safety data to help level the playing field for small, clean cosmetic companies.
The Safe Cosmetics and Personal Care Products Act of 2019 (H.R.4296) will give the FDA authority to ensure that personal care products are free of harmful ingredients.
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