07.12.11
Personal Care Truth, a group of independent cosmetic business owners who represent the interests of the cosmetic industry as a whole, today shared its response to H.R. 2359: Safe Cosmetics Act of 2011, a bill recently introduced by Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA), and Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), to address what it believes to be misinformation included in the bill.
Personal Care Truth believes the bill holds universal flaws that could impact the entire cosmetics industry, including large and small businesses.While Personal Care Truth is pleased that Congress is taking a proactive approach at looking at the cosmetics industry, there are several concerning issues in the bill, including:
Label Confusion: The bill shows no exceptions for contaminants that occur in nature and appear in botanicals.The process of labeling all components and contaminants of each ingredient will be nearly impossible.
International Confusion: This bill pertains to US-made cosmetics only, causing a serious divide in the international cosmetics industry.
Aromatherapy:The required labeling information will make it very difficult to recognize the sole essential oils used versus the constituents and contaminants involved.
Authoritative Source: The Cosmetic Ingredient Review Panel is the authoritative voice on this issue and was not consulted for this bill.
Duplication of Registration: In Section 619 of the bill, the manufacturer and distributor of a cosmetic are required to have a registration number, causing additional layers of unnecessary bureaucracy that will ultimately increase costs for consumers.
Enhanced Business Risks: In Section 620, any person believing that a cosmetic is adulterated or misbranded has the right to turn the company into the Secretary, opening up businesses to frivolous lawsuits for personal gain.
Adverse Health Effects: This term is not appropriately defined in the bill.Small allergic reactions could then be considered adverse health effects, which would be nearly impossible to avoid in every cosmetic user.
“I am in 100% support of safe cosmetics, but not the proposed bill (HR 2359)
as written,” said Kristin Fraser Cotte, co-founder of Personal Care Truth.“Targeting an industry with a proven track record of safety with unrealistic and unnecessary regulations will cost an incredible amount to implement, which we will all end up paying the price for when we go to purchase daily personal care necessities like soap.”
Personal Care Truth believes the bill holds universal flaws that could impact the entire cosmetics industry, including large and small businesses.While Personal Care Truth is pleased that Congress is taking a proactive approach at looking at the cosmetics industry, there are several concerning issues in the bill, including:
Label Confusion: The bill shows no exceptions for contaminants that occur in nature and appear in botanicals.The process of labeling all components and contaminants of each ingredient will be nearly impossible.
International Confusion: This bill pertains to US-made cosmetics only, causing a serious divide in the international cosmetics industry.
Aromatherapy:The required labeling information will make it very difficult to recognize the sole essential oils used versus the constituents and contaminants involved.
Authoritative Source: The Cosmetic Ingredient Review Panel is the authoritative voice on this issue and was not consulted for this bill.
Duplication of Registration: In Section 619 of the bill, the manufacturer and distributor of a cosmetic are required to have a registration number, causing additional layers of unnecessary bureaucracy that will ultimately increase costs for consumers.
Enhanced Business Risks: In Section 620, any person believing that a cosmetic is adulterated or misbranded has the right to turn the company into the Secretary, opening up businesses to frivolous lawsuits for personal gain.
Adverse Health Effects: This term is not appropriately defined in the bill.Small allergic reactions could then be considered adverse health effects, which would be nearly impossible to avoid in every cosmetic user.
“I am in 100% support of safe cosmetics, but not the proposed bill (HR 2359)
as written,” said Kristin Fraser Cotte, co-founder of Personal Care Truth.“Targeting an industry with a proven track record of safety with unrealistic and unnecessary regulations will cost an incredible amount to implement, which we will all end up paying the price for when we go to purchase daily personal care necessities like soap.”