June 2005 | Co-op America’s Living Green
Color Me Green
Dear Co-op America,
How can I find the safest cosmetic products? —Jenny in Chicago
You wouldn’t think that the make-up, lotions and soaps we use every day contain harmful chemicals, but the fact is, many do. The US federal government doesn’t require health studies or pre-market testing on cosmetics—a far-reaching category used by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to include everything from make-up and deodorant to lotions and mouthwashes—so manufacturers are free to put just about anything they want into their products. The safety of these products is monitored almost exclusively by an industry-controlled committee called the Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR) panel.
Consequently, many ingredients in cosmetics are not safety tested at all. According to an analysis by the nonprofit Environmental Working Group (EWG), “Eighty-nine percent of 10,500 ingredients used in personal care products have not been evaluated for safety by the CIR, the FDA or any other publicly accountable institution.”
For example, EWG found that “one of every 13 women and one of every 23 men are exposed to ingredients that are known or probable human carcinogens every day through personal care products.”
Fortunately, there are responsible cosmetics companies out there doing their best to ensure the safety of their products. The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics (CSC)—a coalition of consumer, environmental and social-justice groups working to clean up the cosmetics industry—is pressuring US cosmetics companies to phase out 450 possible carcinogens, mutagens and reproductive toxins from their products (there are thousands of questionable chemicals in personal care products, but banning 450 is much better than the nine that the FDA currently restricts). To date, over 50 companies have signed the campaign’s “Compact for Safe Cosmetics,” pledging to do so—the vast majority of them organic and natural products companies. In addition, cosmetics giants L’Oreal and Revlon say their cosmetics do not include the 450 chemicals, though they haven’t officially signed.
You can find a list of the companies that have signed at www.safecosmetics.org.
In addition, you should also scrutinize the ingredients of the products you use. The EWG recently launched its Skin Deep online database, detailing the safety of hundreds of personal care products (www.ewg.org).
If your product of choice isn’t yet listed on Skin Deep, you can enter suspicious-sounding ingredients into Environmental Defense’s chemical database, Scorecard.org, to learn about known and suspected health effects of thousands of chemicals.
—For more information see WLT’s March article, “The Ugly Side of Pretty”
Dear Co-op America,
I recently moved so I have a bunch of cardboard boxes to give away. Any ideas? —Concerned in San Francisco
Freecycle, at www.freecycle.org, is a nationwide online networking service dedicated to offering things for free, no bartering or selling allowed. Post your boxes there—as well as on bulletin boards at local stores and community centers. Someone is sure to take them off your hands.
Living Green is brought to you by Co-op America, a national nonprofit that provides green living, purchasing, and investing tips and resources. To join Co-op America and get a free copy of the National Green Pages™ directory of green businesses, call 800.58-GREEN, www.coopamerica.org. E-mail Living Green questions to Co-op America.
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