The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics
When it comes to beauty products, the effects of the ingredients they contain are more than just skin deep.
In fact, shampoos, makeup, lotions, perfumes and other cosmetics for sale today can contain ingredients linked to breast cancer, infertility, birth defects and other serious health problems. That's why the Breast Cancer Fund is a leader in advocacy efforts to get toxic chemicals out of cosmetics.
The cosmetics industry uses more than 10,000 chemicals in its products, in everything from lipstick and lotion to shampoo and shaving cream. In fact, studies show that one out of every five products contains ingredients certified by government authorities as known or probable human carcinogens.
CLEAR SCIENCE
Which chemicals in cosmetics are linked to breast cancer?
Check our list against your products >So what can be done? The Breast Cancer Fund is a founding member and national coordinator of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, a broad-based coalition working to eliminate dangerous chemicals from cosmetics and personal care products. The Campaign has enlisted organizations, businesses and thousands of citizen activists to shift the cosmetics market toward safer products and demand government oversight.
We're also advocating for a major overhaul in the form of the Safe Cosmetics Act of 2011, introduced in Congress in June 2011. We need your help telling Congress that cosmetic safety is important to you and keeping this bill strong and protective.
Some of the victories of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics include:
- Convincing Johnson & Johnson to commit to safer cosmetics worldwide, across all brands for kids and adults, by the end of 2015.
- Driving public support for the Safe Cosmetics Act of 2011
- Global release of The Story of Cosmetics, a 7-minute film hosted by Annie Leonard that showcases the toxic problems with cosmetics
- Creating the world's largest searchable cosmetics safety database, Skin Deep
- Educating millions of people about the problem of toxic chemicals in cosmetics
- Successfully pressuring mainstream companies to reduce or remove phthalates from their products
- Getting more than 1,500 companies to sign the Compact for Safe Cosmetics, a pledge to replace harmful chemicals with safe alternatives.
- Forcing major nail polish brands to reformulate their products to remove the three most toxic chemicals (formaldehyde, toluene and dibutyl phthalate)
- Working with the natural and organic products industry to raise the bar for cosmetics safety and sustainability
- Launching a nationwide speaking and book tour for Not Just a Pretty Face: The Ugly Side of the Beauty Industry, by co-founder Stacy Malkan
These efforts have brought international attention to the problem of toxic chemicals in cosmetics, and have spurred thousands of stories in major media outlets in the United States, China, Canada and Europe.
- Ask your Representative in Congress to co-sponsor the Safe Cosmetics Act of 2011.
- Learn more about the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics.
- Find out how your products rate at Skin Deep, the cosmetics safety database from Environmental Working Group.
Related Blog Posts
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05.08.13
J&J removes some chemicals from its baby shampoo, other products (5/6/13)
Following the lead of Johnson & Johnson, companies are beginning to reformulate products to make them safer for consumers.
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01.22.13
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.
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12.03.12
GMA tests lipsticks, glosses for lead (Good Morning America, 12/3/2012)
GMA's sampling follows testing initiated by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics and the FDA.
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08.16.12
Johnson & Johnson to remove formaldehyde from products (New York Times, 8/16/2012)
The Breast Cancer Fund's Lisa Archer told the Times that we will continue to push global giants in the cosmetics industry to make safer products.
