Proposed Legislation Calls for Safer Cosmetics

When it comes to food, I won't buy anything unless I've read every last item on the ingredient list. I know to avoid monosodium glutamate (which is far more pervasive than you'd think), nitrates, etc. But when it comes to cosmetics, I am woefully ignorant about what goes into making them. For a woman so vigilant about what goes into my body, I've really dropped the ball on what goes onto my body. Thankfully, the newly  proposed Safe Cosmetics Act of 2010 will hopefully go a long way to educate and protect people like me.

Given the long list of chemicals that go into our daily personal care products — everything from shampoo to eyeshadow — it is both alarming and puzzling that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has absolutely no oversight of the cosmetics industry. We just let the companies police themselves. Yikes.

In case there was any doubt as to whether this method of accountability actually worked, consider this: Lisa Archer, national coordinator for the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, said that her group did its own independent testing of personal care products and found everything from formaldehyde (a known carcinogen) in children's bath products to hormone disrupters in perfume. If that isn't enough to scare you, then the look at the investigation done last May by the Chicago Tribune that found high levels of mercury in skin-lightening creams, despite the fact that the toxic metal is supposedly banned from such use.

The Safe Cosmetics Act will go a long way in eliminating these dangers. First, it will begin to phase out any ingredient associated with cancer and/or birth defects (I am a bit shocked that hasn't happened already), establish safety standards for all ingredients, and require an ingredients list on cosmetic packaging (much like labels on food). It will also make sure that workers in the cosmetic industry are made aware of any potentially hazardous chemicals they may encounter on the job (again, why hasn't this been happening already?).

Passing this crucial health legislation will not be easy. Lezlee Westine, President and CEO of the Personal Care Products Council, has already issued a statement saying, "We are concerned that the Safe Cosmetics Act of 2010 as written is not based on credible and established scientific principles" and that the proposed measures "would not make a meaningful contribution to product safety."

The bill, which was introduced Tuesday by Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), needs the immediate support of your Representative. Tell them that they should not bow to pressure from lobbyist groups and instead protect the health of their constituents.  Let your Representative know that you want them to pass the Safe Cosmetics Act of 2010.

Photo credit: weglet