Cosmetics Industry Approves Controversial Chemicals

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Cosmetics Industry Approves Controversial

Chemicals

 

 

Cosmetics Industry Approves Controversial Chemicals

 

By Cat Lazaroff

 

http://ens-news.com/ens/nov2002/2002-11-20-06.asp

 

 

WASHINGTON, DC, November 20, 2002 (ENS) - The U.S. Cosmetics Ingredients

Review panel has approved the continued use of phthalates in cosmetics,

concluding that the chemicals are " safe as currently used. " Activist groups,

noting that the European Union has just ordered the phase out of some

phthalates in cosmetics, said the panel's decision leaves U.S. women at risk

of exposure to chemicals that some tests suggest may be linked to birth

defects.

 

After a comprehensive review of scientific studies, the Cosmetics

Ingredients Review (CIR) panel concluded that three related chemicals -

dibutyl (DBP), diethyl (DEP) and dimethyl (DMP) phthalate - used to prolong

the life of fragrances do not pose harm to cosmetic users. The panel, which

is funded and advised by the cosmetics industry, last reviewed the safety of

these substances in 1985.

 

" The CIR Expert Panel's decision is based on solid science and not on

speculation, " said Dr. Gerald McEwen, vice president for science at the

Cosmetic, Toiletry, and Fragrance Association (CTFA). " The science clearly

supports the continued safe use of these ingredients in cosmetics. "

 

McEwen said the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency (EPA), Health Canada and other scientific bodies in Europe

and Japan have also examined these phthalates and have not restricted their

use.

 

But many health groups, women's rights advocates and environmentalists warn

that exposure phthalates have been linked to birth defects in animals, and

criticize the marketing of phthalate containing cosmetics to women of

childbearing age. They warn that the ubiquitous presence of phthalates in so

many consumer products may lead to dangerous levels of exposure for pregnant

women and other vulnerable groups.

 

" The decision of the CIR panel protects the cosmetics and chemicals

industries at the expense of American consumers, " said Charlotte Brody, RN,

executive director of Health Care Without Harm.

 

Phthalates are a family of chemical compounds developed over the last

century and used in a variety of consumer products, including flexible

plastics, adhesives, caulking, paint pigments and a wide range of beauty

products such as nail polish and perfume.

 

" The panel essentially said that, yes, phthalates can be dangerous, but not

at the low levels present in cosmetics, " Brody added. " However, the panel

failed to act on the scientific reality that consumers are repeatedly

exposed to these chemicals through multiple beauty products and other common

items - such as vinyl shower curtains, toys and car seats ­ and the levels

are adding up to harm. "

 

On November 7, the European Commission voted to ban two of the most

controversial phthalates - DEHP and DBP - from cosmetic and personal care

products. Europe has already banned both phthalates from children's toys

that are likely to be put in the mouth, such as teething rings.

 

In the United States, the ingredients of cosmetics are largely determined by

the industry itself, with oversight from the U.S. Food and Drug

Administration (FDA). The CIR panel, for example, includes seven voting

medical and scientific members selected and funded by the industry, along

with non-voting representatives from the FDA, the Consumer Federation of

America, and the cosmetics industry.

 

The Cosmetic, Toiletry and Fragrance Association notes that the panel must

meet the same conflict of interest standards as persons serving on the FDA's

expert advisory committees, and that the scientific body reviewed many of

the same studies cited by phthalate critics as evidence of the links between

the chemicals and reproductive birth defects.

 

" Most people are surprised to learn that the government neither conducts nor

requires safety testing of chemicals that go into health and beauty

products, " said Jane Houlihan, vice president for research, Environmental

Working Group (EWG). " The panel's assessment [of phthalates] was heavily

influenced by cosmetic industry science advisors and would not stand up to

modern standards for public health protection. "

 

The EWG and other phthalate critics were hoping that the U.S. cosmetics

industry would act to remove the controversial chemicals from commercial

products, and now say they will increase pressure on the federal government

to ban phthalates in certain products. The FDA's legal authority over

cosmetics is comparable with its authority over foods, nonprescription drugs

and nonprescription medical devices, and the agency can take action to stop

the sale of any product that does not meet its standards.

 

Safe alternatives to phthalates are already being used in many beauty

products, noted Bryony Schwan, national campaigns director of Women's Voices

for the Earth.

 

" Now is the time for the federal government and for companies to act

decisively, " said Schwan. " FDA must require labeling so that consumers can

make informed choices, and cosmetics manufacturers must remove these

chemicals from their products or risk damage to their brand names. "

 

The Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act requires that cosmetics and their

individual ingredients must be safe and that labeling must be truthful and

not misleading. However, because most cosmetics use phthalates to prolong

the life of fragrances, their presence is generally lumped together with

" perfumes " on product labels.

 

Recent lab tests found phthalates in 72 percent of beauty products tested in

the U.S. and Europe, including top selling hair sprays, deodorants and

fragrances. None of the products listed phthalates on their labels.

" Many people are exposed to multiple doses every day from the range of

cosmetics they use, while workers in the cosmetics and beauty industry face

triple exposure, " says Helen Lynn, health coordinator at the Women's

Environmental Network. " Yet because the manufacturers don't have to list

phthalates on the product label, it is impossible for the consumer to avoid

them. "

 

On Tuesday, Women's Voices for the Earth and other advocacy groups ran an ad

in the " Washington Post " featuring Calvin Klein's Eternity, Aqua Net Hair

Spray and other products that contain phthalates. The products are owned by

Unilever, the Dutch based consumer conglomerate.

 

The groups also ran a full page ad in the " New York Times " in July featuring

Poison perfume by Christian Dior and listing dozens of other products that

contain phthalates.

 

Despite this pressure, the cosmetics industry has shown little interest in

voluntarily removing phthalates from health and beauty products. For

example, perfume manufacturers, almost all of whom include the phthalate DEP

to prolong the life of their fragrances, applauded Tuesday's decision by the

CIR panel as supporting their own position regarding the chemicals.

 

" DEP is a safe fragrance ingredient, thoroughly tested and reviewed by the

industry, multiple independent scientific panels, and regulatory agencies in

the United States and abroad, " said Glenn Roberts, executive director of the

Fragrance Materials Association.

 

And the American Beauty Association said Tuesday that it will continue to

support the use of dibutyl phthalate (DBP) in nail polish products, based on

the CIR decision and on the group's own tests suggesting that DBP does not

penetrate the body through fingernails.

 

" This study and an independent expert analysis of the study concluded

unequivocally that (1) dibutyl phthalate in nail polish product

concentrations does not appreciably penetrate the human fingernail, and (2),

DBP does not add to the overall bioburden from exposure to phthalates, " said

Paul Dykstra, executive director of the American Beauty Association.

But some companies are choosing to remove the controversial chemicals from

their products. On Tuesday, The Body Shop International announced that it

will phase out phthalates from all of its products. Product tests in Europe,

completed earlier this month, found phthalates in the company's deodorant.

 

" There is growing concern that certain phthalates can cause hormone

disruption in humans and that their presence in many different types of

product can lead to extensive human exposure to this class of chemicals, "

the company said in a statement. " As a result, The Body Shop International

has adopted a precautionary approach. We have taken action to avoid the use

of phthalates in all of our new perfumes used in products. We also aim to

phase out the phthalates that remain in existing perfumes as soon as

practicably possible. "

 

Phthalate critics urged consumers to look at the results of recent tests to

determine which companies offer products that are free of phthalates.

 

" Chemicals linked to birth defects do not belong in products marketed to

women, " said Schwan. " Would you rather have a little bit of reproductive

toxins in the products you use, or no reproductive toxins? The choice of

women and mothers we've talked to is clear. Women do not want phthalates in

their beauty products. "

 

For more information about product tests that found phthalates in more than

70 percent of beauty products tested in the United States, Britain and

Sweden, along with a list of phthalate free products, visit:

http://www.NotTooPretty.org

 

More information on phthalates is available from the Phthalate Ester Panel,

an industry group comprised of American Chemistry Council members, at:

http://www.phthalates.org/

 

 

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