In 2011, the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics resolves to build on last year's progress in its mission to reform personal-care regulation.

Among the activist organization's top priorities is backing the re-introduction of the "Safe Cosmetics Act," which calls for increased FDA oversight of the personal-care industry.

"We're hopeful there's a real shot to change the way cosmetics are regulated," Campaign spokeswoman Stacy Malkan told "The Rose Sheet" Dec. 14.

"We think it's time for the CIR panel to go and for the safety assessment system to be under FDA's regulatory program." – Campaign spokeswoman Stacy Malkan

She anticipates that the bill could be introduced again in the House in the spring, and a similar version launched in the Senate.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., reportedly has interest in sponsoring a Senate version of the bill (Also see "House's "Safe Cosmetics Act" Seeks End To Industry "Free Reign"" - HBW Insight, 26 July, 2010.).

Malkan said she is optimistic for the bill's success in 2011 as industry reform has garnered "strong bipartisan support."

"Some of our strongest supporters are Republicans as well as Democrats," she said, noting that having safe cosmetic products on the market "matters to everyone."

"The industry itself recognizes that it could be doing a better job in some areas, and so I feel hopeful that if anything can get through Congress, it's these types of reforms that will regulate chemicals and shift industry toward less toxic products," she said.

The Campaign has also been "in conversations" with companies about the bill, "looking at ways to strategize how the bill might be made more workable and more meaningful," Malkan said.

Businesses have taken issue with provisions in the bill that would require manufacturers to supply FDA with a wealth of safety data.

While engaging with companies to address concerns over the bill, the Campaign also plans to put "continued pressure on companies that are engaging in unhealthy practices," Malkan noted.

She cited recent protests against clothing retailer Abercrombie & Fitch for spraying ambient fragrance in its stores as an example of the group's work in that area ("Campaign Targets Abercrombie 'Spraying,'" "The Rose Sheet" Oct. 4, 2010).

Fragrance Safety Remains Key Initiative

Regulation and disclosure of fragrance ingredients was a top issue for the Campaign in 2010 and will continue to be on its list among of priorities in 2011.

The Campaign and the Environmental Working Group released a report in May titled "Not So Sexy," which identified "secret" chemicals in 17 popular fragrances and pushed for legislation to overhaul current labeling laws (Also see "Study Identifying "Secret" Chemicals In Popular Fragrances Spurs Legislation" - HBW Insight, 17 May, 2010.).

"We think that it's really important for companies to be transparent about what's in a fragrance," Malkan said. "I think we're moving in that direction where companies realize people want to know what's in a fragrance, and we'll get there eventually."

According to the report, about 200 companies have voluntarily disclosed fragrance ingredients on product labeling.

Fragrance disclosure is among the provisions in the Safe Cosmetics Act and will likely be "one of the most contentious" components, Malkan predicted. The bill would virtually eliminate trade secrets, which would hit the fragrance industry hard.

Malkan suggested that the fragrance industry faces challenges in creating fragrances free of toxins, allergens and alleged hormone disruptors.

Innovation is also needed for hair relaxers and hair dyes, she said.

"How to make the truly safe product that changes the shape and color of hair – I think that's an area where we just need to do more research and development and look toward green chemistry solutions," Malkan said.

Hair Straighteners "Of Interest," Group Says

The Campaign has been pushing for action against makers of the professional hair-straightening product Brazilian Blowout, which is marketed on formaldehyde-free claims but has been linked in testing to varying levels of formaldehyde (Also see "News In Brief" - HBW Insight, 15 November, 2010.).

The organization was "encouraged" that the California Attorney General's office filed suit against the company for violations of the state's Proposition 65, which imposes limits on chemicals of concern in consumer products.

Hair-straightening products are "a topic of great interest" to the Campaign, according to Malkan.

"We're going to be looking a little more closely at that," she said, as there are concerns that a number of companies continue to use formaldehyde and formaldehyde-releasing preservatives.

Triclosan is another target. "We've seen a lot of raised awareness about this and some companies are starting to move away, but it is still so widely used and I think that it's very disturbing," Malkan said.

The Cosmetic Ingredient Review Expert Panel prioritizes the review of ingredients of concern, recently assessing triclosan's use in cosmetics and ruling the ingredient "safe as used." At the same meeting, the panel elected to re-open a review of formaldehyde (Also see "CIR Affirms Triclosan Safety, Opts For Formaldehyde Re-Review" - HBW Insight, 20 December, 2010.).

Malkan expressed little confidence in the CIR review process.

"They've looked at a small percentage of cosmetic ingredients, they do very cursory reviews and they don't have the expertise to really look at the long-term health effects, and so we think it's time for the CIR panel to go and for the safety assessment system to be under FDA's regulatory program," she said.

Organic Rise Weeding Out Toxins

Regardless, industry is beginning to make positive changes that align with the Campaign's objectives, according to the rep.

Malkan said the growth of natural and organic personal-care products has been escalating, and a number of conventional products have been reformulated without suspected toxins.

She pointed to Whole Foods' new policy that will require organic personal-care products sold in its stores to be certified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (Also see "New Whole Foods Policy Requires USDA Certification For Organic Body Care" - HBW Insight, 14 June, 2010.).

"More and more companies are able to achieve that, which means they're reformulating, they're figuring out how to do it," the rep said.

Getting to those standards "really covers a lot of the toxicity problems you'll find in conventional products," she said, citing synthetic fragrances, oxalate chemicals or parabens as examples of problematic chemicals that cannot be used.

Companies are also "quietly" reformulating products to include fewer phthalates, and the Campaign has found "less phthalates in products than we used to find several years ago," Malkan said.

In March, the Campaign announced that Procter & Gamble planned to reformulate 18 of its Herbal Essences shampoos to reduce the level of trace contaminant 1,4 dioxane ("P&G reformulating to reduce 1,4-dioxane?" "The Rose Sheet" March 22, 2010).

"I think we need to see more changes and would like to see them faster but there are definitely some good and promising trends that we see," she said.

More Reports On Horizon

The Campaign will continue with its research projects and reports in the coming year.

In addition to 2010's Not So Sexy, other Campaign reports have included "Pretty Scary," concerning Halloween face paints that reportedly contained heavy metals, "Poison Kiss," exploring lead levels in lipstick, and "Toxic Tub," which alleged the presence of toxins in children's bath products.

"I'm not sure exactly what we'll have in 2011, but we're looking at a few different ideas of products that we can research," according to Malkan.

By Lauren Nardella

Campaign For Safe Cosmetics Looks To Maintain Momentum In 2011

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