A group of lawmakers has introduced a collection of bills that aim to ban a number of harmful chemicals that have found their way into everyday beauty products.
As reported by NPR, U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky of Illinois is leading the charge to make cosmetics safer for consumers. Schakowsky and other lawmakers have introduced the Safer Beauty Bill Package, which consists of four separate bills.
The proposed package is an effort to increase cosmetic safety by banning up to 18 toxic chemicals from a growing number of products. This also includes two entire classes of chemicals, phthalates and formaldehyde-releasing preservatives.
The legislative package also calls for mandating full ingredient disclosure on labels and websites, as well as funding research for safer alternatives and protection for communities of color and salon workers.
As a whole, the package would attempt to improve transparency for ingredient safety data and ensure less harmful products are able to hit store shelves.
In a social media post, Schakowsky emphasized the importance of the bill package.
"More than 10,000 chemicals are used to make beauty and personal care products. We owe it to consumers to ensure the beauty and personal care products they use daily are safe." Schakowsky wrote. "My Safer Beauty Bill package will usher in an era of safer beauty for all."
In a recent study published in the Frontiers journal, a team of researchers took a closer look at many toxic chemicals that are used in common cosmetic products.
"The use of synthetic products has been associated with a variety of chronic diseases, including cancer, respiratory conditions, neurological disorders, and endocrine disruption," the researchers wrote.
According to Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, women of color are particularly susceptible to these health problems caused by these toxic chemicals.
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"For decades, the beauty products marketed to Black women and girls and found in our salons have contained toxic, unregulated chemicals — leaving us to disproportionately suffer from increased incidences of cancer, respiratory issues, and adverse reproductive outcomes," Pressley said in a statement. "This isn't a coincidence — this is exploitation."
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