Safer Consumer Products Summit should put cosmetics at the top of the agenda

Earlier this month the State of California released information about the categories that it wants to focus on to identify and ban potentially harmful and toxic chemicals as part of the California Safer Consumer Products Act, and cosmetic and personal care products are likely to be a priority.

“When I received the work plan published by the State, I was a little surprised to see cosmetic products at the top of the list," ​said Gay Timmons, founder of natural ingredients company Oh, Oh Organic.

Safer Consumer Products Act has been 15 years in the making​

This should have a significant impact on the agenda for the Safer Consumer Products Summit, which is to be held in San Francisco, California, October 23 – 24 and has been built around the Act during the 15 years that it has been a work in progress.

“This is the 3rd year I've presented - all industries are affected and I have usually been one of the few people there from the cosmetics industry to attend,”​ said Timmons.

“The Act is intended to identify and remove any toxic or carcinogenic chemicals - in the case of cosmetics they will probably look at  Bisphenol A, Phthalates and formaldehyde donors.”​

Aiming to eliminate potentially hazardous chemicals​

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As it stands, the California Safer Consumer Products Act, which is also known as the California Green Chemistry Initiative, was approved last year and came into effect from October 2013 with the aim of identifying and eliminating chemicals in consumer products that may pose health concerns.

The ultimate goal is to help manufacturers, retailers and importers in California to seek safer alternatives to potentially harmful chemicals, while also enabling California to set a nationwide example in producing and providing safer versions of consumer goods.

As it stands, the Act has created a four step program, which includes the establishment of a list of 1,200 candidate chemicals deemed to be potentially hazardous, a database of priority products containing potentially hazardous chemicals, a charter for compliance and a regulatory response designed to protect consumers and provide manufacturers and suppliers with viable alternatives.

Fragrances and salon products under the microscope​

Timmons expects that any type of packaged product that risks ‘bleeding off’ from any of the listed contaminants is likely to be targeted, with fragrance chemicals and any products used by salon professionals who are susceptible to worker exposure likely to be prioritized.

The two-day Safer Consumer Products Summit will include several key note presentations and panel discussions, networking opportunities and information about compliance with the regulation.

On day one the summit will start off with a key note presentation about priority products and establishing a three-year work plan overview, which will lead into a panel discussion about strategies and tactics for incorporating the regulation into future work plans.

For further details and the full summit program, please click here​.