July 30, 2007

Trashing Toxic Cosmetics

By Lorraine Sanders
Special to the Neighborhood Newswire

Ask any woman about her daily beauty rituals and she’ll be able to tell you exactly what products she uses, in what order and for what purpose.  Most of us begin and end our day with personal care products, like shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, toothpaste and soap.  But those are just the basics. Add make-up, nail polish, hair styling aids, moisturizer, sun protection and specialized skincare products, and the number of products women regularly rely on rises significantly:  women and girls in the United States use an average of 12 personal care products every day, according to a 2004 survey conducted by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, a coalition of health and environmental groups.

With so many personal care products available looking good has never been easier. But there’s a downside to all the poofs and perms:  some cosmetics may pose public health and environmental risks.  Of the roughly 10,500 known ingredients used in personal care products -- from eye cream to body lotion -- only 11 percent have been evaluated for their health impacts, according to Skin Deep, an online database of 14,000 personal care products published by nonprofit Environmental Working Group (EWG). What’s more, EWG has found known or probable carcinogens, ranging from formaldehyde to lead acetate, in one out of every 100 personal care products on the market.

Long-term exposure to toxic chemicals in common toiletry items could cause health problems.  And the chemicals may pose risks to the environment when they make their way into landfills and waterways.  While sewage treatment plants remove some chemicals from waste water, they do not eliminate the chemical ingredients in many medicines and personal care products.  “Waste water treatments aren’t designed to remove hormones and chemicals at that level,” said the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission’s (SFPUC) Tyrone Jue.

In 2003, fish with both male and female reproductive characteristics were discovered in the Potomac River watershed; more recently “intersex” fish have been found off the Southern California coastline. While the causes of the genetic alterations are unknown, scientists speculate that the fishes’ reproductive systems were changed, at least in part, as a result of chemical pollutants from human pharmaceuticals and personal care products that enter water bodies through household drains, groundwater leakage from landfills and human waste.

Public health advocates say reducing toxic chemicals and hormones used in personal care products and pharmaceuticals would be good for consumers and the environment.  “If companies removed the [toxics] from their products, it would have a positive effect downstream as well,” said Kevin Donegan of the Breast Cancer Fund, a member of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics.

Concern about potentially toxic cosmetics has been building for years. Starting this year, the California Safe Cosmetics Act requires cosmetic manufacturers to publicly report the ingredients they use as part of the Proposition 65 registry, an annually updated list of chemicals that are known to cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harm.  The Act is the nation’s first state law regulating what has previously been an essentially self-policing industry.   

“The California Safe Cosmetics Act is a big step forward, but what we’d like to see is stronger federal regulations,” said Donegan.  The U.S. Food and Drug Administration doesn’t test cosmetics before they’re marketed, and the regulatory body that evaluates cosmetic ingredients, the Cosmetic Ingredient Review, is funded largely by the manufacturers themselves. 

Cosmetic companies are increasingly dropping controversial ingredients from their products before the government intervenes. According to the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, nearly 550 companies -- including The Body Shop, Juice Beauty, Pharmacopia and Zia Natural Skincare -- have signed its Compact for Safe Cosmetics, promising to eliminate toxic ingredients from their products by 2010. The pledge also requires participating cosmetic firms to adopt the European Union’s chemical safety standards, which banned the use of known carcinogens and reproductive toxins in personal care products three years ago.

As a result of the California Safe Cosmetics Act and growing pressure from grassroots organizations like Women’s Voices for the Earth, OPI Products Inc. recently announced that it has stopped using the chemicals toluene and dibutyl phthalate in its nail polish. However, the North Hollywood-based company is still being pressured by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics and the Breast Cancer Fund for continuing to rely on formaldehyde, a known carcinogen.

While progress is being made towards safer cosmetics, activists like Donegan say it’s not enough.  “There’s still a lot more to be done,” he said.   Meanwhile, environmental advocates urge consumers to stop buying products containing toxic chemicals.  “If you’re really going to be sustainable, the whole idea of pollution prevention is not using them in the first place,” said Jennifer Clary of San Francisco Clean Water Action and Clean Water Fund. 

Safely Dumping Outdated Lipstick

Choosing the right cosmetic to use in the first place is an important step towards ensuring inner, as well as outer, beauty, but it doesn’t help consumers properly dispose of old or unwanted personal care products that have piled up on bathroom shelves.

The San Francisco Recycling and Disposal Center’s Household Hazardous Waste facility, located at 501 Tunnel Avenue in the Bayview, is the only place in the City equipped to safely destroy personal care products. Products are incinerated through an environmentally-friendly process that doesn’t produce hazardous emissions.  The Center will pick-up waste for a $35 fee, which is waived for the elderly and disabled.  Call 330.1405 for more information.

Residents can either recycle product containers and packaging by disposing of them in the proper receptacles at home or seek out cosmetics companies that offer take-back recycling programs. For example, MAC customers can return empty containers directly to MAC stores or mail them in; the company provides a free face cosmetic for every dozen containers returned.  MAC turns their waste into new packaging.  Kiehl’s also allows customers to return empty containers to local stores for recycling into future product packaging.