SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
The California Department of Public Health's new database offers "a snapshot of a Wild West industry where cosmetics companies can and are using a shocking array of unsafe and cancer-causing chemicals in seemingly innocent products," says Janet Nudelman. (Photo: _Frankenstein_/cc/flickr)
How Toxic Are Your Personal Care Products? California Wants You to Know
New database lets consumers see if product has ingredient known to cause cancer, reproductive harm
Jan 14, 2014
Consumers who want to know if their personal care products contain carcinogens or toxins have a new tool available to them.
The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) unveiled on Friday a searchable database that allows consumers to look up a particular ingredient, product or brand to see if it is potentially harmful.
"Inclusion in this website means a product contains a chemical that has been identified as a known or suspected carcinogen or reproductive toxin by one of the authoritative bodies named in the Safe Cosmetics Act such as the International Agency for Research on Cancer or the National Toxicology Program,'' stated Dr. Ron Chapman, CDPH director and state health officer.
"It does not mean that the cosmetic product itself has been shown to cause cancer, but since most products are not extensively tested for safety, providing information on chemical components will allow consumers to make more informed choices," Chapman stated.
What the database also reveals, as Janet Nudelman, co-founder of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, said, is "a snapshot of a Wild West industry where cosmetics companies can and are using a shocking array of unsafe and cancer-causing chemicals in seemingly innocent products."
And while consumers may be able to make more informed decisions based on the database, "This doesn't ban anything. This doesn't restrict anything," Gretchen Salter, senior program and policy manager at the San Francisco-based Breast Cancer Fund, an organization that belongs to the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics coalition, stated.
Still, adds Salter, "The searchable public database exerts pressure on companies to clean up their act or be forced to acknowledge that they are intentionally adding toxic chemicals linked to cancer and birth defects to lotions, lipsticks and makeup that people use on their skin every day."
The new site is the result of the California Safe Cosmetics Act of 2005, which "requires the manufacturer, packer, and/or distributor named on the product label to provide to the California Safe Cosmetics Program in the California Department of Public Health a list of all cosmetic products that contain any ingredients known or suspected to cause cancer, birth defects, or other reproductive harm," following a campaign led by Breast Cancer Action, the Breast Cancer Fund and the National Environmental Trust.
__________________
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Consumers who want to know if their personal care products contain carcinogens or toxins have a new tool available to them.
The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) unveiled on Friday a searchable database that allows consumers to look up a particular ingredient, product or brand to see if it is potentially harmful.
"Inclusion in this website means a product contains a chemical that has been identified as a known or suspected carcinogen or reproductive toxin by one of the authoritative bodies named in the Safe Cosmetics Act such as the International Agency for Research on Cancer or the National Toxicology Program,'' stated Dr. Ron Chapman, CDPH director and state health officer.
"It does not mean that the cosmetic product itself has been shown to cause cancer, but since most products are not extensively tested for safety, providing information on chemical components will allow consumers to make more informed choices," Chapman stated.
What the database also reveals, as Janet Nudelman, co-founder of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, said, is "a snapshot of a Wild West industry where cosmetics companies can and are using a shocking array of unsafe and cancer-causing chemicals in seemingly innocent products."
And while consumers may be able to make more informed decisions based on the database, "This doesn't ban anything. This doesn't restrict anything," Gretchen Salter, senior program and policy manager at the San Francisco-based Breast Cancer Fund, an organization that belongs to the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics coalition, stated.
Still, adds Salter, "The searchable public database exerts pressure on companies to clean up their act or be forced to acknowledge that they are intentionally adding toxic chemicals linked to cancer and birth defects to lotions, lipsticks and makeup that people use on their skin every day."
The new site is the result of the California Safe Cosmetics Act of 2005, which "requires the manufacturer, packer, and/or distributor named on the product label to provide to the California Safe Cosmetics Program in the California Department of Public Health a list of all cosmetic products that contain any ingredients known or suspected to cause cancer, birth defects, or other reproductive harm," following a campaign led by Breast Cancer Action, the Breast Cancer Fund and the National Environmental Trust.
__________________
Consumers who want to know if their personal care products contain carcinogens or toxins have a new tool available to them.
The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) unveiled on Friday a searchable database that allows consumers to look up a particular ingredient, product or brand to see if it is potentially harmful.
"Inclusion in this website means a product contains a chemical that has been identified as a known or suspected carcinogen or reproductive toxin by one of the authoritative bodies named in the Safe Cosmetics Act such as the International Agency for Research on Cancer or the National Toxicology Program,'' stated Dr. Ron Chapman, CDPH director and state health officer.
"It does not mean that the cosmetic product itself has been shown to cause cancer, but since most products are not extensively tested for safety, providing information on chemical components will allow consumers to make more informed choices," Chapman stated.
What the database also reveals, as Janet Nudelman, co-founder of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, said, is "a snapshot of a Wild West industry where cosmetics companies can and are using a shocking array of unsafe and cancer-causing chemicals in seemingly innocent products."
And while consumers may be able to make more informed decisions based on the database, "This doesn't ban anything. This doesn't restrict anything," Gretchen Salter, senior program and policy manager at the San Francisco-based Breast Cancer Fund, an organization that belongs to the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics coalition, stated.
Still, adds Salter, "The searchable public database exerts pressure on companies to clean up their act or be forced to acknowledge that they are intentionally adding toxic chemicals linked to cancer and birth defects to lotions, lipsticks and makeup that people use on their skin every day."
The new site is the result of the California Safe Cosmetics Act of 2005, which "requires the manufacturer, packer, and/or distributor named on the product label to provide to the California Safe Cosmetics Program in the California Department of Public Health a list of all cosmetic products that contain any ingredients known or suspected to cause cancer, birth defects, or other reproductive harm," following a campaign led by Breast Cancer Action, the Breast Cancer Fund and the National Environmental Trust.
__________________
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.