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 on October 7, 2005. The decision capped a two-year campaign by the Breast Cancer Fund, Breast Cancer Action 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 Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not review cosmetic ingredients for their safety before they come to market, nor does it have the authority to recall hazardous products.
The California Safe Cosmetics Act of 2005:
- Requires 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.
- Allows the state Department of Public Health (DPH) to demand manufacturers to supply any health related information about cosmetic ingredients.
- Authorizes the state’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health, better known as 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 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.
Beginning in 2007, the California Safe Cosmetics Program (CSCP) brought together public health advocates, environmental health advocates and industry leaders to discuss how to translate the law into action. Stakeholders provided input on fact sheets, reporting forms, timetables and outreach and education strategies.
Update: California Safe Cosmetics Program Launches Online Database
 The state program officially launched its centerpiece, a public database of the ingredients in cosmetic products sold in California, in June 2009. Manufacturers have until December 2009 to report their ingredients in the database.
Visit the California Safe Cosmetics Program Web site »
PDF: SB 484 Fact Sheet »
Read the full text of the bill »
Read more about industry opposition to Safe Cosmetics legislation »
| 
