In ‘Market Shift’, the CSC outlined a seven-year project in which the nonprofit organizations that make up the campaign worked with companies in a partnership aimed at raising the bar for safer personal care products.
Stating that“432 companies are leading the industry toward safety, showing it’s possible to make products without using the hazardous chemicals that are all too common in conventional personal care products”.
On the other hand, the PCPC, a national trade association representing the cosmetic products industry for over a hundred years in the US says; “While we applaud meaningful efforts to promote greater safety of personal care products and cosmetics, there is little if any substance to the report issued by the CSC.”
Adding; “Our industry has been committed to making safe, quality products and improving standards.”
The report, they say: “Implies that the health and safety of American consumers is at risk from personal care products and cosmetics, and that products sold in Europe are safer than those sold in the U.S.”
According to the council, their industry has the best product safety record of any sector regulated by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA). “We follow rigorous safety standards and by law cannot market unsafe products”, they said.
In addition, the PCPC believe that there is very little difference between the vast majority of personal care products and cosmetics sold in the United States and those sold in Europe.
“Although the EU Cosmetics Directive does include a list of substances banned from use in cosmetics in Europe, the vast majority of ingredients on the list have never been used in cosmetics in the U.S. (for example, asbestos and jet aircraft fuel) or haven’t been used in many years”, says Dezio.
“The report ignores aggressive, comprehensive and effective industry safety initiative”, she concluded.