Events will take place in a dozen cities from coast to coast as part of a Campaign for Safe Cosmetics week of action. The Campaign is a coalition of health and environmental organizations. Actions will include storefront leafleting, talking with cosmetics counter staff and managers, gathering petition signatures and educating consumers and retailers about toxic chemicals in cosmetics and body care products.

Legislative efforts in California, Massachusetts, New York and elsewhere this year have sought to both require disclosure and curb use of certain toxic ingredients, but have faced heavy lobbying from the cosmetics and chemical industries. Consumers across the country are urging cosmetics companies to put safety first by signing the Compact for Safe Cosmetics, a pledge to phase out chemicals linked to cancer, birth defects and other health problems and replace them with safe alternatives. Nearly 150 cosmetics companies already have signed the compact.

The week of action follows the release of new research linking phthalates—chemicals often labeled only as "fragrance" and found in popular brands of lotion, perfume and hair care and nail products—to genital birth defects in baby boys. Published May 27 in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, scientists reported a direct correlation between phthalate levels in pregnant women and changes to the reproductive organs in their male babies. According to a recent FDA study, as many as two-thirds of products tested contain phthalates.

Major loopholes in federal law allow the $35 billion cosmetics industry to use chemicals in personal care products without testing them for safety or monitoring their health effects. Some chemicals found in cosmetics – including phthalates, acrylamide, formaldehyde and ethylene oxide – are listed by EPA and the state of California as carcinogens or reproductive toxins. Consumers can learn more about the chemical ingredients in their favorite cosmetic products at www.safecosmetics.org

© 2005 HealthNewsDigest.com