Personal Care Products Council Issues Statement on Hawaii Sunscreen Proposal

In response to a ban of critical sunscreen actives, the Personal Care Product Council noted that sunscreens are a crucial and well-recognized tool in the fight against skin cancer.

“The dangers of excessive sun exposure are clear and universally recognized by public health professionals, including prominent dermatologists,” said Tom Myers, executive vice president, legal and regulatory, PCPC. “The Personal Care Products Council (PCPC) and our member companies take the environmental issue of coral reef decline very seriously, but the ban of non-mineral sunscreens does not consider the full body of scientific evidence and will have a profound negative impact on the health and well-being of residents and visitors in Maui County.

“The U.S. has a limited number of approved sunscreen ingredients to make products that protect consumers from the harmful effects of solar radiation. Banning non-mineral ingredients significantly – and unnecessarily – further reduces the available options for effective and approved sunscreen products in Maui County, drastically limiting consumer choice and potentially leading to a shortage of available products. Importantly, sunscreens made with these ingredients are considered safe and effective by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

“Existing scientific data does not support that sunscreen active ingredients pose an ecological threat to coral reefs or other parts of the marine ecosystem. There are well-recognized causes of coral reef decline due to coral bleaching, including climate change, land-based pollution and other human activities, such as physical damage to corals from recreational activities. Numerous governmental agencies and environmental organizations like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force have identified rising sea temperatures from global warming as the primary cause of coral bleaching.

“Policy decisions that will adversely impact public health should not be made ahead of a scientific consensus on this issue. To reduce bias and to synthesize the best available science, the United States Congress directed the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) to evaluate the presence and potential impacts of UV filters in freshwater and marine environments, as well as the potential public health impact of limiting access to sunscreens. Making environmental management decisions on sunscreens based on the current insufficient and, in some cases, unreliable scientific data may lead to unintended health consequences, such as fewer available sunscreens and an increase in the prevalence of skin cancer while providing limited, if any, environmental improvement.

“Beauty and personal care products companies have a long history of working to improve the well-being of the people who trust and rely on our products every day. Our goal is to provide consumers with access to a wide variety of safe, effective and innovative sunscreens to meet the differing needs of individuals and their families.”