The Safe Cosmetic Act of 2010 is Not the Solution
I’m taking a moment to update you all on new proposed cosmetic legislation that will ultimately impact everyone, from large cosmetic companies, to small, green indie manufacturers (like me), to anyone who sells personal care products and cosmetics, to you, the consumer.
HR 5786 The Safe Cosmetics Act of 2010 was released last week. I’ve had a chance to read through the document multiple times and have huge concerns and questions with the bill as drafted. The entire bill can be downloaded by clicking the link above. In attempt to share my personal experience and not turn this post into a novel, I’m directing you to check out these posts that summarize and highlight just some of the many issues with the Safe Cosmetic Act of 2010 draft. I urge you to read the bill as well.
Comments & Concerns Regarding The Safe Cosmetics Act 2010
Interestingly enough, the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics (CFSC) released The Story Of Cosmetics, a “shockumentary” on cosmetic safety on the very same day this proposed new legislation was released…
This was no coincidence.
It’s time to tell my own personal story, something I have been a bit hesitant to do publicly up until this point. An important note to all those who support CFSC and the new bill, the signers of the Campaign For Safe Cosmetics Compact were not notified in any way shape or form as to the lobbying and orchestrated release of the CFSC video with the proposed legislation draft.
I know this first hand because The Grapeseed Company is still listed as a Compact Signer… even though I have asked multiple times to be removed due to the detrimental direction the Campaign was heading in squashing small businesses, along with the lack of science behind their agenda. I last attended an annual compact meeting at Expo West in March 2009 where I was threatened if I did not update my products in the Skin Deep system, my company would be removed as a Compact Signer. That was 17 months ago. I have not updated my products in their system, and have not been removed from the Compact. I have chosen to register with the FDA Voluntary Cosmetic Registration Program (VCRP) and have always listed our complete ingredient decks on my company’s website. I have sent multiple emails asking to be removed from CFSC completely, the latest sent just last week asking for confirmation that my company is removed.
I still have not been removed as a Campaign For Safe Cosmetics Compact Signer.
Lisa Rodgers, my co-founding partner at PersonalCareTruth.com and I have directly tried to work with the CFSC. After the proposed Colorado Cosmetic Bill failed, the co-founder of CFSC left multiple comments at Green Skincare Blog. Following our online interaction, Lisa and I had a conference call with Stacy Malkan, co-founder of the CFSC, about our concerns with the Campaign and lobbying for legislation that would hurt the small, innovative, natural companies. Stacy commented during our conversation, and in writing on my blog that her “view on Skin Deep is that it is not a perfect system and never can be, because of what it is trying to do — analyze an entire industry based on available data, which is very limited due to the historic lack of safety regulations for chemicals.”
I am still perplexed by the fact that co-founder of CFSC herself is pointing out flaws with the Skin Deep rating system CFSC Compact Signers are required to register their formulas in! I do not want my business associated with an organization lobbying to put me out of business based on fear mongering and lack of science. I support safe cosmetics based on scientific research. CFSC has not shown the science to back their rating system in Skin Deep. The way this bill is written would impose huge fees on companies big and small which we will all end up seeing when we purchase our daily essentials, from soap to mascara.
So while CFSC is touting support for this bill from their Compact Signers, I must ask:
- How many other companies are there out there like me who have asked to be removed and the CFSC has not complied?
- Why haven’t they complied? (I think I know the answer to this one… but what do you think?)
- How many of the companies on their signer list have gone out of business and are still listed as compact signers?
- How many are just plain scared to be removed due to the obvious power this “nonprofit” currently has over our government and pending legislation? (if you’re wondering why “nonprofit” is in quotes, read The Revealing Truth of the Money Trail of EWG)
We all want to make sure the personal care products we use are safe, but do we want our government to create a paperwork nightmare that regulates down to nanoparticles when we don’t have the science (ironically from the words of Susan Roll, a founding member of CFSC) to back it? You can listen to Ms. Roll’s live statement from the Colorado hearing by clicking the link above. There may be room for improvement in FDA regulations concerning cosmetics, but The Safe Cosmetics Act of 2010 in it’s current form is is not the solution.
I urge you all to voice your opinion, write your representatives, sign the petition and oppose The Safe Cosmetics Act of 2010 in it’s current draft. If you’re interested in learning more about the science behind what’s in your skin care products, check out more articles under ingredients and science here at Personal Care Truth.
This bill will not ensure your body is safer.
It will make the price tag on your personal care and cosmetic products much higher.
It will squash small businesses paving the way in innovation and green cosmetics right out of the industry.
- We need to be vocal, not scared. We need to tell our stories. We need to stand up to the CFSC and make sure they are not using our businesses as “numbers” to show support of this bill. You may feel the impact in your wallets if you don’t. No matter how green you consider yourself, we all use personal care products daily. This bill will impact everyone.
Perhaps this post will finally get me removed from the CFSC Compact Signers list?
As I step off my soap box, I have one last thought that has been lingering in the back of my mind for months… why is the government targeting the cosmetic industry? We have a proven track record of safety. What you apply to your body doesn’t affect your system in the same way as what you put into your body… if we’re concerned about health issues, cancer and safety, shouldn’t we be scrutinizing diet, fitness and lifestyle choices first? Things that are actually scientifically proven to affect health? We have no legislation in place to cover what we eat or our lifestyle choices… why is the target pointed at the cosmetics industry?
More about the author: Kristin is the founder & CEO of The Grapeseed Company ~ botanical beauty from the byproduct of wine. She creates handmade skincare with organic and local ingredients in Santa Barbara, CA. Kristin blogs at GreenSkinCareBlog.com Read more from this author
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Great post Kristin! I too was an early compact signer. After months of requesting my company's name be removed from the list, I finally received notification yesterday that it had been taken off. I hope they do the same for you.
Great post Kristin. August 7th will be my 2 year anniversary of not being a signer. It took me numerous email attempts to finally be removed as a compact signer
As for the database, in my experience, it is the signers responsibility to remove their products from the Skin Deep database. Once you remove your products, the website will reflect the changes in 24 hours.
After numerous requests over many many months (and even an assurance that I would be this past spring) A Wild Soap Bar is still waiting to be removed from the compact! This is reprehensible behavior and there is absolutely no other reason for it other than they want to falsely bolster the numbers of those who appear to back their agendas. Sure, the idea of making cosmetics safer is a noble one, and I agree that the FDA (or any other governmental agency for that matter) and the big cosmetic corporations do not have the consumer's best interests at heart…but… the fact that the CFSC has continued to display so many “compact signers” against their will, is in and of itself enough reason to totally discredit their efforts in my eyes. This is not an honest way to run a campaign. What else are they manipulating behind the scenes? And what other tactics are they willing to stoop to?
And you can't just remove your products from the Skin Deep database either, I tried. You have to ask the EWG.
That's great Michele. For some reason I have not received any notification from them yet. A college suggested threatening legal action. That's what she had to do to be removed as a signer. Hoping I do not have to go that route… and wondering why it's been so hard for those of us to sever the ties.
I've received many tweets, fb, and emails since the podcast yesterday with small companies like ours singing the same tune. I agree and well said, this is not an honest way to run a campaign.
Then the EWG tells you they can't remove your products because you're a compact signer! ♪♪♫ Welcome to the Hotel California! ♪♫
Wow! They must have changed the way they do things. When I contacted EWG about removing my company, I was told since I had already deleted my products that the website would update within 24 hours.
BREAKING NEWS: A Wild Soap Bar has FINALLY been removed from the compact! (musta been the Hotel California comment below….hehehe)
Well alright then…bringing this issue out in the open like this will make them rethink their position on hoarding signatures when signers want off the list…perhaps their astroturfing is finally getting exposed…
I was told LaurEss would be removed, yet we still are listed. I am also considering legal action. I knew in my gut when I signed that compact it was a bad idea, I should have trusted my instincts.
In an exchange with Stacy Malkin at her blog, she seems to have blocked my name in regard to placing links to the science I could offer since I could no longer add them…It appears that it is only their debunked science which matters and all else should be ignored.
So much for stating truth and research with actual data to substantiate claims…Boy are they the best astroturfers I have come across.
I just sent my 4th request to be removed directly to Lisa Archer, forwarding the 3rd request I made 7/13/10. If anyone needs her email, feel free to contact me through the contact form above. I have been told by others who have struggled with this issue that Lisa actually will get you off the signer list. It's disturbing how many of you have struggled with this. Thank you for helping to bring this issue out in the open and for your emails, tweets, FB, and comments here about it.
we've finally been removed as a CFSC signer! No one bothered to respond and let me know even though I asked for email confirmation when this was completed. I did a search in their database this morning and am no longer there. Glad I'm finally off, and not surprised they did not bother to respond to my 4 written requests for email confirmation when removed.
It's about time and it's nice to see you aren't listed in the Skin Deep database other than to say you are not a compact signer.
So glad to hear Kristin!
We have asked to be removed last year and are still waiting! Actually, we were in the first 30-40 people who signed with CFSC when they first started their “non-profit”. After seeing the direction they took, including turning a deaf ear to all the feedback indies (that built them) were giving, I knew it was time to ask for our removal. Still waiting….
a rather upsetting update: The Grapeseed Company is STILL LISTED as CFSC signer! I really cannot believe this- not only is it not honest to run a campaign this way, it's downright offensive that I've asked to be removed 4 times and they have not complied. When I searched this morning in their database, I searched under “The Grapeseed Company” my company name… someone just brought to my attention that I'm still listed here http://bit.ly/aa5xlg under “Grapeseed Company, The”. I guess I'm calling my lawyer in the morning… how horrible to have to go to these lengths to be removed, and pathetic on the part of The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics for not complying with our requests. That alone should speak volumes to the public and our government about how this campaign is run.
Sevi, there are so many of us in this situation. I hear more and more each day since I wrote this post… the only thing I can conclude is they are in desperate need to show support from small, green companies like ours. It's sad really….
We were finally removed from the signers list after I e-mailed Allison Veen and then wrote a comment on their Twitter feed about waiting to be removed. However we are still in the skindeep database. Try Allison and leave a statement of their refusal to remove you on the safecosmetics twitter feed and you will probably be off in a matter of minutes. I just wish I could figure out how to get my products off the database since my originally all green 0 products are all creeping up into the yellows despite no changes to the formulas.
You may have already read my post about this on facebook, but if you didn't or anyone else is struggling to be removed, this may help.
In a quick breeze through the “B”s in their alphabetical listing of signers, I stumbled across 5 ***update make that 8*** links to business webpages that are gone or closed. I can only assume they went out of business. Although I did find one that is listed twice as if it is two signers. One there is a typo in the web link and the second leads to the standard empty url advertising. I bet if they removed all the companies that asked and all the companies that are no longer in existence, their supporter list would be back to the one page listing it was when I joined.
I sent an email to Allison Veen on 7/13/10. I sent another to Lisa Archer this week. I've left comments in @safecosmetics twitter feed and wrote this post which was published on GreenSkincareBlog.com and here. I've left multiple comments in their twitter feed. The only thing I have been removed from is the email list, since I did not receive the email sent a few days ago about how we were saying the bill was against small businesses. Someone else who is trying to be removed as a CFSC signer forwarded it to me. I'm still listed as a signer on their site here http://bit.ly/aa5xlg
It's so pathetic and unfair they are holding on to us against our will. I'm calling my lawyer as soon as it's 9AM California time. This is taking priority today over my 1 time per year of visiting with 20 family members on vacation. I want to see removal today. Thanks for the info LaurEss and I'm so glad you were removed.
It is sad that they haven't complied with your wishes to be removed from their list. I agree with what LaurEss said in regards to if they edited their list, they may have only themselves standing!It also scares me as a new indie that I am fearful of signing my name to anything that seems like a good thing. I am grateful for Kristen, Lisa, Kayla, Donna Marie and many others who keep me informed, educated, and confident in the work that I do. Thanks ladies!
For all of you trying to get off the CFSC signer list, apparently Allison Veen is in charge of removals from the compact signers list. Stacy Malkan actually responded to my 5th email (sent to any and every email address I could get my hands on affiliated with CFSC) asking for removal last night, saying “Allie, please remove Kristin when you can.” I last emailed Allison directly for removal on 7/13/10. I'm happy to provide her email address and encourage those of you who have commented you've had the same experience to be vigilant in making sure you are removed and that your company is not being used as a number to support this pending bill.