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Governor Signs Safe Cosmetics Bill
In a landmark advance in the safety of cosmetics products, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed SB 484, the California Safe Cosmetics Act of 2005 on October 7, 2005. The decision caps a two-year campaign by Breast Cancer Action, the Breast Cancer Fund and the National Environmental Trust to bring additional scrutiny to an industry accustomed to only minimal oversight.
The chemical and cosmetic industries both vigorously opposed the bill, mounting a major campaign to convince salon owners and workers that they would be shut down if the new law passed. The cosmetics industry spent heavily to defeat SB 484. Proctor and Gamble paid Sacramento lobbyists more than $90,000 in the first six months of 2005, and the Cosmetics, Toiletries and Fragrance Association (CTFA) spent more than $600,000 in the 2003-04 legislative session and the first quarter of 2005 to oppose SB 484 and other environmental health legislation in California.
Currently, the FDA does not review cosmetic ingredients for their safety before they come to market, nor does it have the authority to recall hazardous products. SB 484 will:
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Require cosmetics manufacturers to disclose to the state any product ingredient that is on state or federal lists of chemicals that cause cancer or birth defects.
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Allow the state Department of Health Services (DHS) to demand manufacturers supply any health related information about cosmetic ingredients.
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Authorize CalOSHA to regulate the products to protect salon workers if they determine a safety risk.
Schwarzenegger signed the law against a backdrop of new science related to chemicals in cosmetics. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that exposure to certain phthalates—compounds that are used in many cosmetics products—is increasing. A recent study for the National Study for Environmental Health Sciences linked higher phthalate exposure by pregnant women to birth defects and developmental problems in infant boys. Though these health affects have long been established in animal studies, recent research has shown that even very low levels of the compounds can impair reproductive development and cause birth defects.
SB 484 was supported by a wide range of public health organizations, including Catholic Health Care West and advocates for Asian-Americans health services, as well as organized labor. The vast majority of California salon workers are of Asian descent.
Read more about industry opposition to Safe Cosmetics Legislation >>
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