Posted on June 29, 2023

By Zoë Christopher, Program Officer

It shouldn’t be the case that we put ourselves at increased risk of breast cancer simply by taking care of ourselves.

Research shows that on average, women use 12 different personal care and beauty products each day. If each product, which includes cleansers, conditioners, hair dyes, makeup, fragrances, etc., contains 5 toxic chemicals, the cumulative exposure to cancer-causing chemicals is significant, and compounds our potential risk for breast cancer.

Take action today! Let your congressional representatives know that we need the Safer Beauty Bill Package to become law!

The cosmetics industry has been largely unregulated in the U.S. until 2022. The Safer Beauty Bill Package, comprised of four specific bills, was re-introduced in Congress in May of 2023, and we’ve made it easy for you to encourage your representatives to support its passage.

The four bills included in the Safer Beauty Bill Package are:

  • The Cosmetic Fragrance and Flavor Ingredient Right To Know Act, which will require secret and often toxic chemical ingredients to be included on product labels, because consumers have the right to know what they are using on their bodies.
  • The Toxic Free Beauty Act, which will ban the use of the 11 most hazardous chemicals used in personal care products. The European Union has already banned these chemicals, and it’s outrageous that industry has been allowed to continue using them in the U.S.
  • The Cosmetic Safety for Communities of Color and Professional Salon Workers Act, which will create cosmetic safety protections for womxn of color and hair, nail, and beauty salon workers, groups of people who are disproportionately exposed to high levels of toxic chemicals on a daily basis.
  • The Cosmetic Supply Chain Transparency Act, which will require suppliers such as fragrance houses, formulating labs, and suppliers of ingredients to provide brand owners with toxicity and safety data and ingredient disclosure.

Take action today!

At BCAction, we’ve always been critical of marketing ploys. The beauty industry has historically prioritized profit over people. We are not convinced that self-care products labeled “clean” or “natural” are harmless, because use of these words is not regulated in any way.

Unfortunately, many people fall for these marketing tactics and assume that known toxic and carcinogenic chemicals are not included in the formulas of products we buy and use. The lack of regulation in the U.S., combined with the power of chemical companies, allow these assumptions to prevail.

Congress can make a difference by passing this unprecedented suite of bills, the Safer Beauty Bill Package, which will reduce our risk of breast cancer and other diseases.

Send your letter today so your representatives know you are passionate about ending the breast cancer crisis, you need safer personal care products, and you want a healthy future.