The Council Provides Updates at Annual Meeting

The Council Provides Updates at Annual Meeting

• At the Personal Care Products Council’s 118th Annual Meeting in Naples, FL in February, more than 470 industry leaders gathered to discuss the opportunities and challenges facing the global cosmetic and personal care products industry in the coming year, to highlight recent accomplishments and to elect new officers with the Council.

Newly-elected Personal Care Products Council chairman E. Scott Beattie, chairman and CEO of Elizabeth Arden, said the Council will focus this year on legislative advocacy and regulatory policies, strengthening the cosmetic ingredient review (CIR) program to support product safety, working to harmonize global regulation, and building and defending the reputation of the industry.He also highlighted the participation at the meeting of nine international trade associations.

Retiring Council chairman Dan Brestle highlighted the economic and political challenges the Council faced during his tenure and praised the industry for coming together to “emerge a stronger and more resilient industry” with a turnaround in US sales in the luxury category, an uptick in mass, and the emergence of a growing men’s personal grooming business.

Brestle pointed to how beauty consumers are changing the game, noting their increased sophistication, and how the traditional shopper has “gone from a passive receiver of information” to one who “controls the conversation.”

He also noted the dramatic recent changes in consumer behavior and urged industry leaders to focus on product innovation, growth and technology.

Council president and CEO Lezlee Westine outlined the Council’s key accomplishments in 2011, including obtaining bi-partisan support for the industry’s legislative proposal to strengthen and enhance regulatory oversight of cosmetics, streamlining the cosmetic ingredient review process, advocating for international harmonization of cosmetic regulations throughout the world and engaging in social media and other communication platforms to an effort to get the facts out about product and ingredient safety.

“We will continue our work and build on these accomplishments in the coming year to help ensure a business environment that enables this industry to continue to grow and delight its consumers with safe, innovative products,” Westine said.

Other highlights from the annual meeting include: keynote speaker and founder of Trendhunter.com Jeremy Gutsche, who spoke on how to spot new trends and highlighted the importance of innovation, and a panel discussion with Bonnie Fuller, media executive and editor of HollywoodLife.com, Chris Elshaw, EVP and COO, Revlon; Inc., Kevin Gallagher, president of Croda, Inc; Emrah Kovacoglu, CEO of Total Beauty Media Group, and Cosimo Policastro, EVP-fine fragrance, Givaudan, that examined how new raw materials and ingredients contribute to innovative product features. Political analysts Charlie Cook and Stuart Rothenberg shared their predictions for the November 2012 elections and what they could mean for the personal care industry.

Attendees also heard insights from leading consumer trends experts from Essence, Univision Communications and GQ.

The Council elected the following officers:chairman—Scott Beattie, chairman, president and CEO, Elizabeth Arden; vice chairs—Virginia Drosos, group president-global female grooming, Procter & Gamble, Chris Elshaw, EVP & COO, Revlon, Heidi Manheimer, CEO, Shiseido Cosmetics (USA); secretary—Linda Marshall, CEO, Elysee Scientific Cosmetics; and treasurer—David Holl, president and CEO, Mary Kay Inc.

Save the date for The Council’s next annual meetings: Feb. 25-27, 2013 and Feb. 24-26, 2014. Both events will be held at The Breakers, Palm Beach, FL.

More info: www.personalcarecouncil.org

Cosmetic Ingredient ReviewReaffirms Safety of Parabens
• The Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR) recently reaffirmed that parabens, a family of preservatives used in cosmetics and personal care products, are safe.

“The cosmetic industry formally requested that CIR re-examine the safety of parabens as they are used in cosmetics, and we are gratified that the panel has done so and confirmed the safety of these ingredients,” said Halyna Breslawec, chief scientist for the Personal Care Products Council (The Council).“The Council also appreciates that the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) supported the CIR decision,” she said.

In December 2011, the Council requested that CIR reexamine its review of parabens in light of two recent opinions by the European Commission’s Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS).SCCS concluded, among other things, that some parabens are safe at current use levels but recommended that levels of others used be reduced.

At its March 5-6 meeting, CIR reviewed the SCCS opinions and concluded that there were little additional new data concerning parabens.The panel voted to reaffirm its earlier conclusions that parabens are safe for use as cosmetic ingredients.CIR initially reviewed the safety of parabens in 1984, and since then has continually examined newly available data related to the safety of these ingredients. Its last comprehensive report was published in 2008.

More info: www.cir-safety.org, www.cosmeticsinfo.org