Keep Toxins Out Of Cosmetics
Final signature count: 27,804
Sponsor: The Breast Cancer Site
Support the Safe Cosmetics and Personal Care Products Act and stop the cosmetics industry from profiting off of poison!
Cosmetics are among the least-regulated products on the market1. Loopholes in federal law allow use of unlimited amounts of chemicals in products without testing, monitoring of health effects, or adequate labeling2. One-third of cosmetic products on the market contain chemicals linked to cancer, and half contain chemicals labeled "toxic3."
Nearly 90% of the 10,000 ingredients in personal care products haven't undergone safety testing4.
The average woman is exposed daily to 126 chemical ingredients via personal care products alone5. 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 19386 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)7 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 harm8. 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-regulated9.
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 workers10.
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.
Sign the petition and demand Congress pass this important legislation!
- Lydia Ramsey Pflanzer, Business Insider (11 October 2015), "A $60 billion industry is shockingly unregulated."
- Workgroup for Safe Markets (2021), "Toxic Chemicals in Products."
- Matthew Daly, Associated Press (15 July 2021), "Study: Half of US cosmetics contain toxic chemicals."
- EcoWatch (6 July 2015), "84,000 Chemicals on the Market, Only 1% Have Been Tested for Safety."
- Jane Houlihan, Environmental Working Group (25 July 2008), "Statement of Jane Houlihan on Cosmetics Safety."
- U.S. Food & Drug Administration (27 November 2018), "Part II: 1938, Food, Drug, Cosmetic Act."
- Rep. Janice D. Schakowsky, 116th Congress (12 September 2019), "H.R.4296 - Safe Cosmetics and Personal Care Products Act of 2019."
- Scott Faber, Environmental Working Group (5 May 2020), "The Toxic Twelve Chemicals and Contaminants in Cosmetics."
- M. Ridder, Statista (24 August 2021), "Cosmetics Industry in the U.S. - statistics & facts."
- Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, a project of Breast Cancer Prevention Partners (2021), "Support the Safe Cosmetics and Personal Care Products Act of 2019."
The Petition:
Dear Rep. Schakowsky and members of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce; Education and Labor,
I am writing to urge you to pass the Safe Cosmetics and Personal Care Products Act of 2019, a long-overdue piece of legislation critical to protecting all of us from the dangerous and insidious chemicals we are exposed to every day.
The Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act of 1938 is woefully out-of-date; loopholes in U.S. federal law allow manufacturers to use unlimited amounts of chemicals in their products without requiring testing, monitoring of health effects, or adequate labeling. This is unacceptable, and I am grateful that you recognize the urgent need to regulate an industry with such a far-ranging impact.
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 $60 billion industry that is currently self-regulated.
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.
Not only is this legislation good for consumers and industry workers, it will level the playing field for businesses that are striving to make the safest products.
I commend you for displaying the leadership to sponsor the Safe Cosmetics Act and strongly encourage you to continue efforts to pass this important legislation.
Sincerely,
