The bill, which is co-sponsored by Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), is said to be particularly burdensome to smaller cosmetic and personal care business, while it could also serve to stifle innovation and does not provide appropriate and significant national uniformity, ICMAD said in an official press statement.
The bill was introduced on Monday, and proposes to review five potentially risky ingredients each year, with the first five ingredients set to include Diazolidinyl urea, a preservative used in a wide selection of body and hair care products.
Feinstein aims for similar regulations to those in Europe
“From shampoo to lotion, the use of personal care products is widespread, however, there are very few protections in place to ensure their safety,” Feinstein said in a press statement.
“Europe has a robust system, which includes consumer protections like product registration and ingredient reviews."
The bill aims to give the FDA the authority to prevent any cosmetic or personal care product containing ingredients or formulations deemed to be unsafe from going on sale in the United States.
The bill also targets the growing market for the online sale of cosmetics and personal care products by stipulating that ingredients should be labelled as part of the online product description.
Not the right approach to safety regulation
Although ICMAD says it will continue to collaborate with the FDA and sister organization Personal Care Product Council, the approach taken by the bill is believed to be the wrong one.
“ICMAD has a long track record of working with federal regulators to promote product safety, honor the best science in our industry, and advance small businesses that innovate and provide jobs,” said ICMAD CEO Pam Busiek.
“We admire Senator Feinstein’s sincere efforts toward these goals and we welcome her partnership. However, the approach taken in this legislation is in conflict with these goals.”