campaign for safe cosmetics

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- A significant proportion of lipstick manufactured in the United States and used by millions of American women contains surprisingly high levels of lead, the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics said Thursday.

According to new product tests, 61 percent of the brand-name lipsticks tested contained detectable levels of lead, which can be toxic if ingested.

The top brands testing positive for lead included L'Or�l Colour Riche "True Red," L'Or�l Colour Riche "Classic Wine," Cover Girl Incredifull Lipcolor "Maximum Red" and Dior Addict "Positive Red."

"The L'Or�l Group is committed to upholding the highest standards of safety for all the products it makes and sells. Each and every ingredient used in our products has been thoroughly reviewed and tested by our internal safety team," the company said in an emailed statement.

Spokespeople for Cover Girl and Dior were not immediately available for comment.

One-third of the tested lipsticks exceeded the Food and Drug Administration's limit for lead in candy -- a standard established to protect children from directly ingesting lead, the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics said. Pregnant women and young children are particularly vulnerable to lead exposure.

Although lipstick products are also ingested into the body, the FDA has not set a limit for lead in lipstick, the CSC said.

The FDA "has set strict limits for lead levels allowed in the colors used in lipsticks," according to John Bailey, the executive vice president for the Science Cosmetic, Toiletry, and Fragrance Association. "The products identified in the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics report meet these standards."

"Lead builds up in the body over time and lead-containing lipstick applied several times a day, every day, can add up to significant exposure levels. The latest studies show there is no safe level of lead exposure," Mark Mitchell, M.D., MPH, president, Connecticut Coalition for Environmental Justice, said in a statement.

The lead tests were conducted by an independent laboratory over the month of September on red lipsticks bought in Boston, Hartford, Conn., San Francisco and Minneapolis.
American-made lipstick contains "surprisingly high levels of lead," according to new product test results released today by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics.
The lead tests were conducted by an independent laboratory over the month of September on red lipsticks bought in Minneapolis, Boston, Hartford and San Francisco.

Its findings include:

Sixty-one percent of the 33 brand-name lipsticks tested contained detectable levels of lead, with levels ranging from 0.03 to 0.65 parts per million (ppm). None of these lipsticks listed lead as an ingredient.

One-third exceeded the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's 0.1 ppm limit for lead in candy.

Thirty-nine percent of the lipsticks tested had no detectable levels of lead.

Among the top brands testing positive for lead were:

-L'Oreal Colour Riche "True Red" - 0.65 ppm

-L'Oreal Colour Riche "Classic Wine" - 0.58 ppm

-Cover Girl Incredifull Lipcolor "Maximum Red" - 0.56 ppm

-Dior Addict "Positive Red" - 0.21 ppm

L'Oreal challenged any claims its products contain harmful ingredients, saying in an e-mail statement reported by the San Francisco Chronicle that its products have been thoroughly reviewed and tested by the company's toxicologists, clinicians, pharmacists and physicians and are in compliance with federal regulations.

The Food and Drug Adminstration, the Chronicle said, said it has known of concerns about lead in lipstick in the past. Many of the reports have been "urban legends," FDA spokeswoman Stephanie Kwisnek told the newspaper. She also told the Chronicle that the agency has no plans to act in response to this latest report.

The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics describes itself as a coalition of women's, public health, labor, environmental health and consumer-rights groups whose 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.''

Lead is a heavy metal that when ingested can cause adverse health effects in children such as behavioral problems and learning disabilities. Ingested in high amounts, it can cause seizures or death.

The full report on lipstick, including complete test results, is posted at www.SafeCosmetics.org. Tests were conducted the Bodycote Testing Group laboratory in Sante Fe Springs, Calif. It operates nearly 300 facilities around the world. As the laundry list of lead-contaminated items grows it makes one wonder: Is nothing unleaded? Just look at this week's headlines in papers nationwide tracking the presence of lead -- which can cause cancer, birth defects and neurological problems.


Is your lipstick leaded or unleaded?Lead is turning up in lipstick as reported in the Boston Globe and based on research by The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics. The group measured lead levels ranging from 0.03 to 0.65 parts per million. "One-third of the tested lipsticks exceeded the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's 0.1 ppm limit for lead in candy ?a standard established to protect children from directly ingesting lead." Contaminated brands included L'Oreal, Cover Girl and Christian Dior. Manufacturers defended their products as well tested and safe.

The Chicago Tribune takes on the matter of older toys in homes and toys that missed getting snagged in the recall net.

And the LA Times had this piece on lead in Curious George dolls. A group called the Center for Environmental Health tested monkeys sold by Marvel and found one contained 6,000 parts per million of lead in its paint and plastic, more than 10 times the legal limit. A Marvel spokesman said the dolls would be tested and removed from the shelves if high lead levels were found.

The state Ecology Department is launching an initiative to get the lead out in Washington -- though it appears that's an increasingly daunting task.
WASHINGTON, DC, September 28, 2007 (ENS) - As officials from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, FDA, and the cosmetics industry traveled to Europe to discuss regulatory obstacles to the cosmetics trade between countries, a nonprofit research organization released the results of a new investigation that found hundreds of cosmetics sold in the United States contain chemicals the industry itself has determined to be unsafe, even when used as directed.

Many of the cosmetic products on the shelves of U.S. stores contain chemicals that other countries have banned, the Environmental Working Group, EWG, report shows.


A cornucopia of cosmetics on U.S. store shelves (Photo credit unknown)
These banned chemicals include hydrogen peroxide in contact lens cleaners sold in the United States, formaldehyde in mascara, selenium in shampoo and moisturizer, and lead acetate in hair coloring.

The EWG was prepared to present the results of its investigation to the meeting held Thursday in Brussels, but was excluded from that meeting along with all public health, consumer and environmental organizations.

On August 30, the FDA denied a request made by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics - of which EWG is a founding member - to attend the Brussels meeting.

The agency stated that, "Everyone has agreed that we should stick with our current Terms of Reference that provides for an industry association-regulator dialogue. If that changes at any point, we will certainly let you know."

In a letter to Andrew C. von Eschenbach, MD, the head of the federal agency, EWG Executive Director Richard Wiles says the Food and Drug Administration "misrepresented" the Terms of Reference to exclude the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics.

"Instead of precluding attendance by anyone but regulators and industry representatives," Wiles said in the letter, "the Terms of Reference states, 'it is recognized that successful implementation requires the input of a constructive dialogue with the cosmetics?industry trade associations and potentially other stakeholders," and that the second day of the meeting can include dialogue with "in certain cases, interested parties.'"

Wiles wrote, "Contrary to the exclusion asserted by FDA, the document provides ample leeway for public health, consumer and environmental groups to attend; the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, EWG and other groups who research and advocate for the safety of personal care products certainly qualify as "interested parties" and "other stakeholders" in this process."

"It's an outrage that the FDA would shut consumers out of this important process," said Janet Nudelman, coordinator of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, "especially since they've set a place for the cosmetics industry at the table."


The federal government tests drugs for safety, but does not test cosmetics. (Photo credit unknown)
Cosmetics do not have to be approved as safe by the Food and Drug Administration before they are sold. As a result, they may contain dangerous ingredients banned in Europe and Japan or chemicals deemed unsafe for specific uses by their own industry scientists, said Jane Houlihan, EWG vice president for research.

Nearly 90 percent of ingredients in personal care products have not been assessed for safety by anyone, so we are not sure what regulatory obstacles the FDA and industry need to minimize, said Houlihan.

In its analysis of the ingredients in more than 23,000 products, EWG discovered that 751 different products - one of every 30 products sold in the United States - do not meet one or more industry or governmental cosmetics safety standards.

The analysis found that 383 products contain ingredients that are prohibited for use in cosmetics in Canada, Japan, or the European Union.

The EWG found 447 products that industry safety panels have found unsafe when used as directed.

Among these products are 86 that were found unsafe for all product applications by the U.S based Cosmetic Ingredient Review, CIR, an industry-funded panel, and the International Fragrance Association.

The FDA has no authority to require that cosmetics be tested for safety before they are sold, although the agency does have the authority to test drugs and food additives before sale.

While the Cosmetic Ingredient Review is funded by the industry and is not a government health agency, EWG research shows that this "self-regulated industry routinely fails to adhere to their own safety panel's advice and to heed the health warnings in cosmetic safety standards set in other countries," the group said.

The EWG is calling on the federal agency to ensure that all personal care products on store shelves are safe for consumers and to guarantee that meetings regarding cosmetics safety policy are open and accessible to the public. Help us give cosmetics companies a make-over! Please join our campaign by signing this petition and let cosmetics and personal care products companies know that their customers want safe products.




Chemicals linked to cancer and birth defects do not belong in products we use on our bodies. However, some popular brands of shampoo, deodorant, face cream and other everyday products contain these dangerous chemicals. The European Union has a new law that requires cosmetics companies to remove reproductive toxins, mutagens and carcinogens from personal care products. This law went into force in early September 2004. Cosmetics companies need to make these safer products available for all of us.


We, the undersigned, call on all cosmetics and personal care companies to protect our health by phasing out the use of chemicals linked to cancer, birth defects and other health concerns in every market they serve.