Is That Lipstick Dangerous?

by WiredBerries Editors — August 23, 2007

The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics is a coalition of public health, educational, religious, labor, women’s, environmental, and consumer groups. Their goal is to protect the health of consumers and workers by requiring the health and beauty industry to phase out the use of chemicals linked to cancer, birth defects, and other health problems and replace them with safer alternatives.

Personal care products like shampoo, conditioner, after shave, lotion, and makeup are not regulated by the FDA or any other government agency. It is perfectly legal and very common for companies to use ingredients that are known or suspected to be carcinogens, mutagens, or reproductive toxins in the their products. But there’s no need to give up personal hygiene for fear of exposure, just look for products from one of the 600 companies that have signed the Compact for Safe Cosmetics (also known as the Compact for the Global Production of Safer Health and Beauty Products), a pledge to remove toxic chemicals and replace them with safer alternatives in every market they serve.