The California Assembly has reintroduced the Toxic-Free Cosmetics Act, A.B. 2762. If passed, the law would ban 12 toxic ingredients, such as mercury and formaldehyde, from the beauty and personal care products Californians use every day.
Bill Died in Assembly Health Committee
Assembly Members Al Muratsuchi (D-Torrance), Bill Quirk (D-Hayward) and Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland) are joint authors of the Toxic-Free Cosmetics Act and were key supporters of an earlier iteration of the bill that, despite urgent requests by breast cancer survivors, researchers and public health advocates, died in the Assembly Health Committee in January. And in April 2019, a similar bill stalled in its first policy committee because industry opposition helped to block a vote.
California has seen many examples of the impact of toxic ingredients in beauty care products.
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A woman recently went into a coma a few miles from here because she used face cream contaminated with mercury,” said Assembly Member Wicks. “
And right now, there is nothing stopping that from happening again and again. I call on my colleagues to make sure we do not wait any longer to address this critical issue.”
To Create Global Standard for Safety
The European Union has done the rigorous science to identify ingredients that are not safe for use in cosmetics. By following their science on chemical bans, assembly can ensure products sold in California are safe while also creating a more global standard for cosmetic safety.
In December 2019, a study by the
National Institutes for Health found a correlation between women who use permanent hair dye and chemical straighteners, and a higher risk of developing breast cancer. The researchers concluded that Black women were most adversely affected.
Harmful chemicals such as mercury and formaldehyde have no place in beauty products. A.B. 2762 is an important step toward addressing health inequities linked to chemical exposures and we applaud the state legislature for reintroducing this important piece of legislation.
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The stakes could not be higher, especially for the one in eight women who will experience breast cancer in her lifetime,” said Janet Nudelman, director of the Breast Cancer Prevention Partner’s Campaign for Safe Cosmetics.
A.B. 2762 is a commonsense bill that would ban 12 of the most toxic chemicals from beauty products sold in California, nine of which are directly linked to breast cancer. This important bill takes us one step closer to preventing breast cancer before it starts by removing a major source of women’s ongoing exposure to some of the most toxic substances on the planet.
A.B. 2762 is co-sponsored by EWG, Black Women for Wellness, Breast Cancer Prevention Partners and CalPIRG.
Source: Environmental Working Group