By now, you’re familiar with the Safe Cosmetics Act of 2010 (HR 5786), put into play by Reps. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc) on July 21, 2010. This bill is designed to give FDA “authority to ensure that personal care products are free of harmful ingredients" and will also help “the cosmetics industry by fostering the development of the safer products American consumers are demanding," according to SafeCosmetics.org, touting a reform on the “practically self-regulated" personal care industry. On the same day Stacy Malkan and Annie Leonard released their film, “The Story of Cosmetics", in support of the Cosmetics Act with a focus on the perpetual use of toxic chemicals in the cosmetics populating marketplace shelves.
However, there are many natural and organic personal care companies that are opposing the proposed legislation. In fact, Donna Maria Coles Johnson and the Indie Beauty Network, a coalition of small cosmetics manufacturers, sponsored an online petition opposing HR 5786. Among the reasons they state they oppose the act are:
- Unnecessary Labeling: HR 5786 will require personal care companies to submit not only a list of ingredients (which is already enforced with current cosmetic laws), but a list of trace elements found inside those ingredients.
- Homogenized Compliance: The proposed bill will require the same testing and paperwork from multi-billion dollar cosmetic companies as smalltime companies that produce maybe 25 products or less, making it impossible for many small personal care companies to stay in business.
- Animal Testing: Testing compliance may be out of “REACH" and may do more harm than good.