Companies don’t put all chemical ingredients on the label, the “Right to Know: Exposing Toxic Fragrance Chemicals in Beauty, Personal Care, and Cleaning Products,” a report by the Breast Cancer Prevention Partners or BCPP says.
In addition, companies often don’t tell consumers about fragrance chemicals linked to cancer, hormone disruption, reproductive harm, and respiratory problems.
“BCPP’s report reveals that when we use common beauty and personal care products, we are exposed to a shocking number of unlabeled, unregulated toxic fragrance chemicals without our knowledge or consent,” said Janet Nudelman, director of program and policy at BCPP and director of BCPP's Campaign for Safe Cosmetics.
“Consumers assume that companies have to tell them what is in the products that they use in their homes, on their bodies, and buy for their children,” said Kara Cook-Schultz, U.S. PIRG toxic director. “But this report shows that companies are actually not telling consumers about most of these chemicals. That has to end.”
A U.S. federal labeling loophole and an unregulated $70 billion global fragrance industry allow dozens – sometimes even hundreds – of chemicals to hide under the word “fragrance” on the product labels of beauty, personal care, and cleaning products.
One in four of 338 fragrance chemicals tested for the report were linked to serious, chronic health effects. BCPP's Campaign for Safe Cosmetics and more than 20 organizations and safe cosmetic companies from around the country selected 32 beauty, personal care, and cleaning products for testing.
No U.S. state or federal law regulates the safety of fragrance chemicals or requires the disclosure of fragrance ingredients to consumers, manufacturers, or regulatory agencies. The 80-year-old federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act give the FDA only minimal authority to oversee the $84 billion cosmetics industry.
Last week, U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D.-Illinois, introduced the Safe Cosmetics and Personal Care Products Act of 2018, which calls for full fragrance ingredient disclosure to consumers, manufacturers, and the FDA.
“This new report shows that we urgently need more transparency and better regulation of beauty and personal care products and the fragrances they contain,” said Schakowsky.
Her bill requires full fragrance disclosure and would ban toxic ingredients including carcinogens in personal care products.
“Consumers and workers have been at risk for too long because of secret chemicals in the products they use every day,” she said.
