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. Both lipsticks also contained toxic glycols and organic solvents. The tests were conducted by National Environmental Trust (NET) and released yesterday in the new report, “Cabinet Confidential.”
The tests also found phthalates in several other beauty products, including L’Oreal Preference Hair Color Conditioner, Pantene Pro V Shampoo and Conditioner, Revlon Skinlights Face Illuminator and Lancome Renergie Lift Makeup. The chemical wasn’t listed on any of the labels.
“We urge people to avoid these products until the cosmetics companies remove these unnecessary, toxic chemicals. There is no reason on Earth for these companies to put chemicals linked to birth defects into products we smear on our lips and faces,” said Bryony Schwan, national campaigns director of Women’s Voices for the Earth (WVE).
Legislation to ban phthalates from cosmetics in California passed the Senate Health Committee June 30 and is moving through the state legislature.
“As we discover more and more cosmetic products with phthalates, it is clear that we must take action to make the companies remove them,” Schwan said. The European Union has already banned two phthalates from cosmetics, along with other chemicals known to be reproductive toxins or carcinogens.
WVE and NET are part of the national coalition, The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics. The campaign is urging companies to sign the Compact with America, a pledge to remove carcinogens and reproductive toxins from cosmetics. See www.safecosmetics.org
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Founding members of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics include: Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow, Breast Cancer Fund, Clean Water Fund, Commonweal, Environmental Working Group, Friends of the Earth, Massachusetts Breast Cancer Coalition, National Black Environmental Justice Network, National Environmental Trust and Women’s Voices for the Earth.For more information and background on the campaign, see www.safecosmetics.org.
