New website claims "toxic chemicals" in most cosmetics products

Related tags Personal care products Cosmetics

A coalition of environmental groups has launched a website which claims to reveal carcinogens and harmful chemicals in everyday cosmetic products.

SafeMarkets.org is run by a US-based collective of environmental groups which aims to pass laws which will restrict the use of harmful substances in everyday products.

Jamie McConnell, with Women's Voices for the Earth and Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, said: "We've tested household products and found carcinogens and other harmful ingredients in cleansers, detergent, room fresheners and other everyday items used in many homes.” 

SafeMarkets.org is helping to promote our reports and information and make them more accessible to consumers and businesses."

Toxic cosmetics

The group claims that many commonly sold cosmetic products contain harmful substances due to “major loopholes in federal law.”

SafeMarkets.org state on their website: “More than 1 in 5 personal care products contain chemicals linked to cancer, 80 percent contain hazardous impurities, and 56 percent contain penetration enhancers that help deliver ingredients deeper into the skin.”

The website also targets commonly used harmful chemicals, including BPA, pesticides in food, PVC and toxic flame retardants.  

Consumer groups

Groups of industry experts such at the Personal Care Products Council and the CTPA have always rejected claims that cosmetic regulations are too lax, or that most cosmetic products on the market contain harmful chemicals. 

In a comment on the Silent Spring study in 2012, which similarly claimed to find harmful chemicals in common household products, the CTPA said in a press release: "Cosmetics and personal care products companies formulate their products to ensure that the amounts of ingredients used are within safety limits that have been established by scientific and regulatory bodies around the world."

Related topics Regulation & Safety

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