A program of Breast Cancer Prevention Partners

Toxic Chemicals Found in Kids’ Makeup Products- What Will You Shop for This Halloween?

New Press Release

New report by the Breast Cancer Prevention Partners shows you should be worried about more than checking your children’s Halloween candy this year. For Immediate Release: October 13, 2016Contact: Erika Wilhelm, (415) 321-2920, erika@bcpp.org SAN FRANCISCO – Findings from the new report published today show potentially harmful chemicals could be in the products marketed to your kids. […]

The Ugly Truth About Makeup

Aljazeera

Janet Nudelman, Director of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, speaks to Al Jazeera about the toxic ingredients in cosmetics.

Chemical linked to breast cancer found in popular anti-aging skin care products

New Press Release

New report from Breast Cancer Fund’s Campaign for Safe Cosmetics reveals toxic contaminants in L’Oréal Garnier and P&G Cover Girl products. For Immediate Release: October 14, 2015Contact: Erika Wilhelm, (415) 321-2920 SAN FRANCISCO – Newly published test results show that a toxic contaminant linked to cancer known as perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) was found in anti-aging products from […]

Perfect Nails, Poisoned Workers

The New York Times

Some ingredients used in nail products have been tied to cancer, miscarriages, lung diseases and other ailments. The industry has long fought regulations. by Sarah Maslin NirMay 8, 2015 Each time a customer pulled open the glass door at the nail shop in Ridgewood, Queens, where Nancy Otavalo worked, a cheerful chorus would ring out […]

The Human Experiment

2013 victories

What if the greatest chemical disaster of our time wasn’t an oil spill or a nuclear meltdown, but instead, constant, low-level chemical exposures affecting every person on the planet? The Sean Penn film “The Human Experiment” lifts the veil on the shocking reality that thousands of untested chemicals are in our everyday products, our homes […]

Under pressure: campaigns that persuaded companies to change the world

The Guardian

by Marc Gunther Hard-hitting activist campaigns against big corporations have become part of the sustainability landscape. Some change the world. Some change little. Telling the difference between one and the other isn’t easy. Consider this example of a victory that is less than it seemed at the time: when the Breast Cancer Fund accused Revlon of using […]

The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics Stands its Ground

New Press Release

The Campaign’s director of science responds to “misinformation” charges by L’Oreal and the Personal Care Products Council For Immediate Release: Thursday, January 15, 2015Contact: Margie Kelly, 541.222.9699, mkelly@breastcancerfund.org SAN FRANCISCO—The director of science for the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics issued the following response to L’Oreal USA, which is claiming via Twitter that the Campaign’s “Cosmetics […]

Revlon Eliminating Toxic Chemicals From Cosmetics

New Press Release

For Immediate Release: Monday, December 22, 2014 After defending its use of carcinogens, Revlon reformulates to stake a claim in the growing safe cosmetics market SAN FRANCISCO – Revlon just got a makeover. Cosmetics giant Revlon has overhauled its ingredients list, vowing to eliminate some of the most toxic cosmetic chemicals from its makeup, mascaras and […]

L’Oreal Eye Makeup, Kids’ Shampoo Contain Cancer-Causing Chemicals

New Press Release

For Immediate Release: December 10, 2014 SAN FRANCISCO – L’Oreal USA, which has built its brand on glamour and global beauty, sells cosmetics made with chemicals linked to cancer, including eye makeup, children’s shampoos, nail polish, and more, according to research conducted by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics. In a letter to L’Oreal USA President and […]

Campaign For Safe Cosmetics Tells Procter & Gamble To Make Cosmetics Without Cancer

New Press Release

For Immediate Release: October 1, 2014 Popular P&G cosmetics contain carcinogens, including Cover Girl, Max Factor, Olay, and a Pantene hair product with a pink ribbon supporting breast cancer awareness SAN FRANCISCO – Cancer-causing chemicals are present in many different types and brands of cosmetics and personal care products found on store shelves across America, according […]

First-Ever Legal Agreements Seek To End Use Of Cancer-Causing Chemical In Shampoos

New Press Release

For Immediate Release: May 5th, 2014 OAKLAND, CA–The Center for Environmental Health (CEH) announced today it has reached the first-ever legal agreements with major companies, including Colgate Palmolive, Saks Inc., Walgreens and 23 others requiring the companies to end their use of the cancer-causing chemical cocamide DEA in shampoos and other personal care products. But […]

Avon Phases Out Toxic Triclosan From Cosmetics

New Press Release

For Immediate Release: April 1, 2014 SAN FRANCISCO—Facing pressure from shareholders and consumers who want safer cosmetics, Avon announced today it will phase out the toxic chemical triclosan from its beauty and personal care products. The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics congratulated Avon, while pushing the company to take further actions to improve the safety of its cosmetics. […]

FDA Rejects Cosmetics Industry’s Draft Legislation

New Press Release

For Immediate Release: March 6, 2014 SAN FRANCISCO—Michael Taylor of the Food and Drug Administration issued a scathing letter today expressing his “profound disappointment” with draft legislation the agency received from the Personal Care Products Council (PCPC) and the Independent Cosmetic Manufacturers and Distributors (ICMD)—two cosmetics industry trade associations—outlining their vision of federal cosmetics regulatory reform. […]

Women take on the cosmetics industry

San Jose Mercury News

by Heather Somerville, San Jose Mercury News October 9th, 2013 It began more than a decade ago with four women who wondered whether the hair spray, perfume and shampoo they were using every day were safe. Their quest to find an answer led them to their neighborhood drugstores, where they spent hours reading the labels […]

Campaign gets companies to make safer cosmetics

by Linda A. Johnson, The Associated Press November 30th, 2011 TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — More than 400 companies selling cosmetic and other personal care products have removed potentially hazardous chemicals from them, after a seven-year campaign by a large coalition of consumer, health and environmental groups. The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics said Wednesday that those […]

Brazilian Blowout blowup

The Philadelphia Inquirer

By Sandy Bauers, Inquirer GreenSpace Columnist Tuesday, November 9, 2010 The quest for beauty is often fraught with compromises. There’s lead in some lipsticks. And how many of our cosmetics are tested on animals? The latest controversy is over a popular hair treatment called the Brazilian blowout, which is a professional smoothing treatment that eliminates […]

Perfume protest: Teens storm “toxic” Abercrombie & Fitch

TIME

by Allie Townsend Oct. 04, 2010 Ridiculous teen franchise finally protested for being ridiculous? Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Last week, teen activists protested the chain store’s practice of pumping the air full of its cologne, which they claim contains harmful chemicals responsible for killing, yes, sperm. Once the enigma of cool, Abercrombie has […]

Cleaning up baby products

The New York Times

by Abby Ellin, New York Times May 27th, 2009 In March, the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics reported finding formaldehyde and 1,4-dioxane, a trace contaminant of some chemicals used in cosmetics, detergents and shampoos, in 55 children’s personal-care products. The chemicals are listed as probable human carcinogens by the Environmental Protection Agency. Seventeen of them — […]

300 Cosmetics and body care companies pledge to make safer products

New Press Release

SAN FRANCISCO-More than 300 cosmetics and body care products companies have promised to replace ingredients linked to cancer, birth defects, hormone disruption and other negative health effects with safer alternatives. The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics announced today that it had more than tripled the number of companies who have signed the “Compact for the Global […]

Are Chemicals Hiding in your Makeup?

New Press Release

(LOS ANGELES) — Most cosmetics and other personal care products sold in the U.S. contain chemicals that have never been assessed for safety, according to a computer-assisted investigation by the Environmental Working Group (EWG). Today EWG released the results of a study of 7,500 brand-name products on a free website (www.ewg.org) that for the first […]

New Product Tests Find Toxic Lipsticks

New Press Release

New product tests have found phthalates, which are known to cause birth defects in laboratory animals, for the first time in two popular brands of lipstick, Moon Drops Lipstick by Revlon and Lipfinity Paint by Max Factor.

USA Today Ad Names Bad Actor Cosmetics Companies

New Press Release

New York — A full-page advertisement in USA Today challenges cosmetics companies to come clean about whether they plan to remove toxic chemicals that are banned in the European Union from products sold on American shelves. The advertisement was placed by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, a coalition of US health and environmental groups. This […]

Cosmetic Industry on Notice: FDA Issues Warning on Untested Products

New Press Release

Acting on a petition filed June 14, 2004 by the Environmental Working Group (EWG), on February 3, 2005 the Food and Drug Administration issued an unprecedented warning to the cosmetics industry stating that the Agency is serious about enforcing the law requiring companies to inform consumers that personal care products have not been safety tested. […]

More Than 100 Cosmetic and Body Care Companies Pledge to Make Safer Products

New Press Release

SAN FRANCISCO-On the eve of Mother’s Day, when many sons and daughters purchase cosmetics and personal care products as gifts for their moms, the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics reports that 116 cosmetics and personal care product manufacturers have signed the “Compact for Safe Cosmetics,” a pledge to replace hazardous ingredients with safer alternatives within three […]

Don’t pucker up: lead in lipstick

GMA Good Morning America

Good Morning AmericaOctober 12, 2007 You might want to think twice before touching up your lipstick. According to a new report, some lipsticks are contaminated with lead, from drugstore brands to designer labels. The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics randomly purchased more than 30 lipsticks in four cities and sent them to a lab for lead […]

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