• Reduce 1,4 dioxane to a maximum of 10 parts per million in adult products;
• Phase out formaldehyde-releasers in adult products;
• Limit parabens in adult products to methyl-, ethyl- and propyl-;
• Complete phase-out of triclosan from all products;
• Phase out Diethyl Phthalate (DEP) from all products (no other phthalates are currently used);
• Phase out polycyclic musks, animal derived ingredients, tagates, rose crystal and diacetyl from fragrances.

Johnson & Johnson’s announcement follows the company’s November 2011 commitment to globally reformulate its baby products to remove carcinogens 1,4 dioxane and formaldehyde by the end of 2013, which was triggered by years of campaigning and dialogue by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics and allies including the American Nurses Association, including the release of two reports Toxic Tub and Baby’s Tub is Still Toxic, which showed Johnson & Johnson baby products contain these carcinogens.

Both formaldehyde and 1,4-dioxane cause cancer in animals, and formaldehyde was recently classified as a known human carcinogen by the U.S. National Toxicology Program. Phthalates, parabens, triclosan and polycyclic musks are all considered to be likely hormone disruptors and have been linked to a variety of health problems ranging from birth defects to diabetes, obesity and breast cancer. 

“While J&J still has work to do, we support its efforts and will keep working with the company to make improvements,” said Erin Switalski, executive director at Women’s Voices for the Earth, a co-founder of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics. “In addition to being a real win for public health, we believe that these commitments will bode well for J&J’s bottom line, too. Consumers are simply looking for the safest products out there.”

“While voluntary action on the part of manufacturers like Johnson & Johnson indicates that some in the cosmetics industry are getting the message that consumers want safer products,” said Cindy Luppi, director at Clean Water Action, a co-founder of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, “only stricter regulation of this $50 billion industry will ensure that all consumers are protected.”  

The Safe Cosmetics Act of 2011, currently circulating in Congress, will phase out chemicals linked to cancer and reproductive harm; implement a strong safety standard designed to protect children, pregnant women and workers; require full disclosure of ingredients; and give FDA the authority to recall dangerous products.

"Today's action by Johnson and Johnson is another example of a company responding to their customers and the public interest community," said Nneka Leiba, senior analyst with Environmental Working Group, a co-founder of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics. "Unfortunately, not every company will take similar steps to protect consumers from potentially toxic ingredients. That is why we need Congress and the cosmetics industry to support the Safe Cosmetics Act that will require substances be safe for human health before being used in the products we all use every day."

*A Salon Health Hazard Alert: Hair Straightening Products and Formaldehyde

*Not So Sexy - The Health Risks of Secret Chemicals in Fragrance

Pages: 1 · 2

More Articles

• No Excuses: Hiding Toxic Ingredients In Cleaning Products
• The Marketing of the American Beauty
• Relationships: The Tale of a Hairdo
• Silver: A State of Mind
• Hearings on the Hill, Examining the Current State of Cosmetics: What's Missing from Those Labels?
• Making Us Into Make-Believers: Hype and Hope; Before and After
• Helen Mirren and Other Women of Note
• A Salon Health Hazard Alert: Hair Straightening Products and Formaldehyde
• Secrets of the Silk Road
• Shopping for the Snowed In