Whats the story with toxins in cosmetics?

Whats the story with toxins in cosmetics?

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Watch The Story of Cosmetics and learn about the newly introduced Safe Cosmetics Act of 2010

What are all those chemicals in your shampoo? Your lipstick? Your aftershave? And what do they have to do with asthma, breast cancer and learning disabilities?

As a founding member of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, Friends of the Earth has worked tirelessly for the past seven years in a coalition focused on educating the public about serious toxins in cosmetics and personal care products. All this work has resulted in the introduction of the Safe Cosmetics Act of 2010!

If this legislation is passed, it will strengthen the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) oversight and regulation of the $50 billion cosmetics industry. This legislation will ensure that cosmetics do not contain ingredients or contaminants linked to adverse health effects, and close loopholes that prevent consumers from knowing what’s in their products. At present, the cosmetics industry can use virtually any ingredient in personal care products, even chemicals linked to cancer, birth defects or other health impacts, or that have never been assessed for safety by any publicly accountable agency. Some of these ingredients don’t even appear on product labels.  

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Learn, share and help change this toxic mess

This video is just in time to build momentum for groundbreaking safe cosmetics legislation. For the first time in 70 years, we have a real chance to pass a bill that would eliminate chemicals linked to cancer, birth defects and other health problems from the products women, men and children put on their bodies every day.

The Safe Cosmetics Act of 2010 will also include important provisions for manufactured nanomaterials in cosmetics, which have been linked to many concerns for both human and environmental health (see our detailed reports). This bill would require companies to inform FDA about which nanomaterials they are using and require they provide important details about these ingredients. The bill will also require this information be made publicly available and give FDA the power to label cosmetics and personal care products that contain manufactured nanomaterials.