Inside Prevention

FDA warns of skin creams, lotions tainted with mercury (ABC7-TV San Francisco, 5/16/2012)

Mercury in imported skin-lightening creams is just the latest example of toxic chemicals in cosmetics. Stacy Malkan, co-founder of the Breast Cancer Fund's Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, spoke with ABC7 News about how shoppers can protect themselves and explained the importance of the Safe Cosmetics Act.

(Read transcript.)

Untested chemicals in beauty products? (ABC World News, 4/30/2012)

Women put an average of 120 chemicals—some linked to cancer and other health problems—on their bodies each day via cosmetics, shared Diane Sawyer on last night's ABC World News.

The Consumer Watchdog piece features our Director of Program and Policy, Janet Nudelman, and highlights the Safe Cosmetics Act, a proposed law supported by the Breast Cancer Fund and our Campaign for Safe Cosmetics that would protect our health.

 

Even nail polishes labeled "natural" may not be (Daily Green, 4/11/2012)

The California Department of Toxic Substances Control has found "toxic trio" chemicals toluene and dibutyl phthalate in most samples of salon nail products tested -- even those that claim to be free of the harmful substances.

The state agency selected 25 products, 12 of which were labeled as not containing one or more of the toxic trio (the third chemical in the trio is formaldehyde). In fact, lab analysis revealed that most samples, whether they made "three-free" claims or not, contained toluene, DBP or both. As reported by the Daily Green:

"Consumers have had it with the current system that tolerates cosmetics companies outright lying to consumers, putting dangerous chemicals in our products, and getting away with it," said Lisa Archer, director of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics at the Breast Cancer Fund. (Read complete article.)

For more information about the findings, visit DTSC's website.

Lawmakers pushing to regulate cosmetics (Marketplace, 4/2/2012)

A hearing last week in Congress is pushing cosmetics regulation -- and the Safe Cosmetics Act -- into the spotlight. Breast Cancer Fund Program and Policy Director Janet Nudelman spoke with Marketplace yesterday:

Lawmakers want FDA to regulate cosmetics (Roll Call, 3/29/2012)

A Tuesday Congressional hearing on cosmetic safety shed light on the problem of toxic chemicals in these everyday products. Congress is poised to take action, but will lawmakers favor a bill that protects health or a bill backed by the cosmetics industry? Capitol Hill publication Roll Call explains:

There’s formaldehyde in your Brazilian Blowout, lead in your Grecian Formula hair dye and who knows what in your perfume. Certainly not the government.

For the first time in more than 30 years, lawmakers are preparing to extend the Food and Drug Administration’s authority to regulate cosmetics, setting off a battle between large makeup manufacturers and consumer safety advocates over how far the government should go.

...

“I think there has been undue influence on the Office of Cosmetics and Colors from the cosmetics industry since they started regulating cosmetics 70 years ago,” said Janet Nudelman, the policy director of the Breast Cancer Fund, which sponsors the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, a coalition of 150 organizations representing consumers, salon workers and environmentalists. “It’s such an incestuous relationship.” (Read complete article on Roll Call.)

If you haven't already, ask your Representative to support the Safe Cosmetics Act, a bill supported by the Breast Cancer Fund and our Campaign for Safe Cosmetics coalition that would protect our health by getting carcinogens and other chemicals of concern out of cosmetics.

Campaign gets companies to make safer cosmetics (Associated Press, 11/30/2011)

More than 400 cosmetics companies have removed chemicals linked to disease from their products under the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics' seven-year effort to shift the market toward safer products, as reported by the Associated Press today:

More than 400 companies selling cosmetic and other personal care products have removed potentially hazardous chemicals from them, after a seven-year campaign by a large coalition of consumer, health and environmental groups.

...

The coalition of about 150 groups worked with the companies to get them to remove substances banned by health authorities in other countries, particularly chemicals linked to cancer and birth defects and preservatives that release formaldehyde, which can cause cancer as well as burn the eyes, nose and throat. The coalition also pushed for companies to list all ingredients in their products, which many companies don't do. (Read complete article.)

The Campaign, a project of the Breast Cancer Fund, launched a voluntary pledge for manufacturers called the Compact for Safe Cosmetics in 2004. In the Compact's seven years (closed in 2011, although the broader Campaign continues) more than 1,500 companies signed on.

A report released by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics today, Market Shift, celebrates the 321 companies that met all requirements of the Compact, as well as 111 that made significant progress toward those goals.

Market shift: hundreds of cosmetics companies fulfill safe-products pledge

Good news! The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, a project of the Breast Cancer Fund, announced today that 321 cosmetics companies have met the goals of the Compact for Safe Cosmetics, the Campaign's voluntary pledge to avoid chemicals banned by health agencies outside the U.S. and to fully disclose product ingredients—a pioneering practice in the cosmetics industry. An additional 111 companies made significant progress toward those goals. Read all about it and see the list of companies in the new report, Market Shift: The story of the Compact for Safe Cosmetics and the growth in demand for safe cosmetics.

This is great news for consumers, who can vote with our dollars this holiday season to support companies that are doing the right thing. It's also great news for all of us who are working to pass the Safe Cosmetics Act because these companies are proving that it's possible to make quality products without using the hazardous chemicals that are all too common in conventional personal care products. You can show your support for this legislation by asking your Representative to sign on as a co-sponsor of the Safe Cosmetics Act.

Johnson & Johnson, amid activists' push, steadily removing toxic chemicals from baby products (Associated Press, 11/16/2011)

Iconic baby shampoo maker Johnson & Johnson has committed to a two-year timeline to remove formaldehyde-releasing preservatives 
from its baby products worldwide, under pressure from the Breast Cancer Fund's Campaign for Safe Cosmetics. Formaldehyde is a known human carcinogen. The Associated Press broke the news late yesterday, based on a letter from J&J to the Campaign. (Read the letter and the Campaign press release.)

Also included in the letter is confirmation from J&J that it is actively working to strip the carcinogen 1,4-dioxane from its baby products, and it has already removed phthalates (hormone-disrupting chemicals) from all baby products worldwide, including phthalates found in fragrance.

The letter and transparent public commitment follow the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics' Nov. 1 release of an analysis, Baby's Tub Is Still Toxic, that found different formulations of Johnson's Baby Shampoo in different countries--some of which were already using safer formulations.

From the Associated Press:

Amid pressure from activists, Johnson & Johnson said Wednesday that it is continuing efforts to remove traces of two harmful chemicals from its baby products around the world.

An international coalition of consumer and environmental groups has been pressing J&J since May 2009 to remove two potentially cancer-causing chemicals from products including its signature Johnson’s Baby Shampoo, long advertised under the slogan “No More Tears.”

...

The New Brunswick, N.J., company generally still has a Teflon reputation, but questions about the safety of its baby products led to a rebuke from the Chinese government earlier this month and thousands of consumers writing the company that they would no longer buy those products, according to the campaign. (Read complete article.)

This is a monumental victory for children's health and safety, and for the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics. At the Breast Cancer Fund, we're incredibly proud to have been part of this win. Today we celebrate the tireless work by our staff and partner organizations; together over the last two and a half years we moved a corporate giant to make lasting global change in the name of health.

Groups push J&J on baby shampoo chemicals (Associated Press, 11/1/2011)

A new report from the Breast Cancer Fund's Campaign for Safe Cosmetics reveals that Johnson's Baby Shampoo sold in some countries—including the U.S.—contains a formaldeyhde-releasing preservative, while formulations of the product sold in Japan, the U.K. and several other countries use safer alternatives. Formaldehyde isn't directly linked to breast cancer, but it is classified as a known human carcinogen. The Associated Press reports:

The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics has unsuccessfully been urging the world's largest health care company for 2 1/2 years to remove the trace amounts of potentially cancer-causing chemicals — dioxane and a substance called quaternium-15 that releases formaldehyde — from Johnson's Baby Shampoo, one of its signature products.

Johnson & Johnson said it is reducing or gradually phasing out the chemicals, but did not respond directly to the campaign's demands.

Now the group is ratcheting up the pressure.... (Read complete article.)

More bad news on BPA? (KQED-FM, 9/16/2011)

A few days ago we told you about significant new research that found both BPA and methylparaben can cause human breast cells to act like cancer cells, AND interfere with the drug tamoxifen.

Today NPR station KQED hosted lead researcher William Goodson, M.D. of California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco, as well as San Francisco Chronicle health care reporter Victoria Colliver, in a conversation about this important research and what it means.

They also reference the study of BPA in food packaging we published with Silent Spring Institute in March, in which we found that avoiding packaged food for just three days resulted in significantly lower BPA levels in study participants.

Listen now: