Inside Prevention

J&J removes some chemicals from its baby shampoo, other products (5/6/13)

Breast Cancer Fund Director of Program and Policy Janet Nudelman was quoted in an Environmental Health News article about Johnson & Johnson's landmark decision to remove many harmful chemicals from its personal care products:

"The small companies demonstrate to the big cosmetic giants that making safe products is not only possible, but it's also profitable. It's what consumers want."

She points out that disclosure requirements can serve as de facto bans on toxic chemicals:

"Companies would rather quietly reformulate their products than have consumers know there are carcinogens or reproductive toxins in the product."

 Read the full article here.

Eat like a Mennonite (New York Times, 1/18/2013)

What does it take for a modern American family to lower its BPA levels? Author Florence Williams offers a peek into her stint in the nearly-plastic-free world in an opinion piece for the New York Times:

On the second day of my chemical-detox diet, I was very hungry. I’d been eating like a rabbit, all carrots and greens that I’d gathered, barehanded, from the baskets of the farmer’s market, no gloves or plastic bags allowed. I cooked up some quinoa that I bought packaged in paper from the supermarket sometimes known as Whole Paycheck. I was effectively a vegan because I couldn’t find meat or cheese that wasn’t wrapped in plastic, and I didn’t have access to accommodating livestock.

My 7-year-old daughter and I were participating in a pilot study conducted in 2011 by the Silent Spring Institute and the Breast Cancer Fund (a follow-up study was published later that year in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives). We had urinated into some glass containers a few weeks earlier, back when we were "normal" Americans, and now we were spending three days trying to reduce our exposure to plastics before supplying our urine again.

As Williams notes, the "normal" phase of the study, which allowed for painted toenails and canned beans, was more fun. Yet it's possible to create modern conveniences that don't leave toxic traces in their human consumers.

Says Williams, "It's why we need the government to require testing of commercial chemicals for hormonal effects, and to regulate them in a meaningful way. And it's why we need manufacturers to design products with safer substances in the first place." (Read complete article.)

GMA tests lipsticks, glosses for lead (Good Morning America, 12/3/2012)

Good Morning America tested 22 lipsticks and lip glosses from drug stores and department stores for lead, and ran a story on the results—and what they mean—this morning.

Of the 22 samples, 12 (55 percent) contained lead. As the Breast Cancer Fund's Director of Program and Policy, Janet Nudelman, points out in the segment, the results show that it's possible to make lipstick without lead.

GMA's sampling follows testing initiated by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics in 2007 (the Breast Cancer Fund is a founding member of the Campaign), and the FDA in 2009 and 2011. Lead is a neurotoxin that is especially harmful to fetuses, babies and children. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention state that "no safe blood lead level has been identified."

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Johnson & Johnson to remove formaldehyde from products (New York Times, 8/16/2012)

Our announcement yesterday that Johnson & Johnson has committed to removing chemicals of concern, including formaldehyde, 1,4-dioxane, triclosan and certain phthalates and parabens, was reported by the New York Times today.

The Breast Cancer Fund's Lisa Archer, who leads the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, told the Times that we will continue to push global giants in the cosmetics industry to make safer products:

Johnson & Johnson, which makes a range of personal care products like baby shampoo, acne cream and antiwrinkle lotion, announced plans Wednesday to remove a host of potentially harmful chemicals, like formaldehyde, from its line of consumer products by the end of 2015, becoming the first major consumer products company to make such a widespread commitment....

“There’s a very lively public discussion going on about the safety of ingredients in personal care products,” said Susan Nettesheim, vice president for product stewardship and toxicology for the company’s consumer health brands....

Lisa Archer, director of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, said her group would continue to press other cosmetics and consumer-goods companies to follow Johnson & Johnson, including the Estée Lauder Companies, Procter & Gamble, Avon and L’Oreal. (Read complete article.)

J&J removing harsh chemicals from products by 2015 (Associated Press, 8/15/2012)

In a monumental victory for the Breast Cancer Fund and our partners in the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, today Johnson & Johnson announced that it will remove toxic chemicals linked to cancer and other health problems from its cosmetics for kids and adults, across all J&J-owned brands, worldwide.

The company plans to reformulate its baby products by 2013 and its adult products by 2015. Previously J&J had committed to making baby products safer, but not adult products.

Breast Cancer Fund staff member Lisa Archer, who leads the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, spoke with the Associated Press about the victory:

The health care giant late last year pledged to remove "chemicals of concern" from its baby products sold around the world. That change came after a large coalition of health and environmental groups began pressing J&J more than three years ago to make its personal care products safer.

"This is a good step in the right direction," said Lisa Archer, the campaign's national director. "In terms of the cosmetic giants, Johnson & Johnson is going the furthest of any of them in removing chemicals of concern."

By 2015 Johnson & Johnson will phase out [probable human carcinogens 1,4 dioxane and formaldehyde] and others of concern, including triclosan, phthalates and parabens, as well as fragrance ingredients, which aren't disclosed on product labels. However, it will allow chemicals that release formaldehyde when no safe alternative will work and is reducing levels of 1,4 dioxane to below 10 parts per million. (Read complete article.)

We're thrilled with this victory and all that it means for the health of children, women and men worldwide. For more about J&J's specific commitments and the history of our work to convince the company to reformulate, visit safecosmetics.org.

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.