Campaign for Safe Cosmetics : Get Involved

Sections

Take Action

Get Crafty

Join Our e-Mail List

Materials

Nonprofits: Endorse the Campaign

Victories

Legislator Lookup

Ask the FDA to Set a Limit on Carcinogen in Bath Products

Carcinogens don't belong in bath products! In February 2007, the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics and author David Steinman released lab tests that showed 1,4-Dioxane — a hidden cancer-causing petrochemical — in bath products for kids and adults.

In the months following that press conference we heard from worried and angry parents across the United States. Clearly the presence of this carcinogen in products you use to bathe your children is not OK with you — and why would it be? It turns out that companies can vacuum-strip the nasty stuff out cheaply, but they don’t. And it’s a contaminant, so it doesn’t show up on labels.

Concerned parents, concerned people who shower, the issue is complicated but the bottom line is not: The FDA is not minding the tub! We not only need clarification on the FDA limits for 1,4-Dioxane in personal care products, we also want to know who’s looking out for American consumers. We asked for it, but we still have yet to hear from the FDA on this important issue.

E-mail your thoughts on this to FDA Commissioner Andrew C. von Eschenbach. Please edit the text in the letter below to make it your own.

November 21, 2009

Subject:

I am upset to hear that the FDA does not have a limit for 1,4-Dioxane in personal care products. 1,4-Dioxane is a petroleum-derived contaminant considered a probable human carcinogen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and a known carcinogen by the National Toxicology Program. It is also on California's Proposition 65 list of chemicals known or suspected by the state to cause cancer or birth defects. Recent product testing shows that 1,4-Dioxane is present at alarming levels in popular bath products marketed to both children and adults. More broadly, I am very concerned that the FDA does not require testing of the ingredients in personal care products that we use daily on our bodies and our children’s bodies. Americans count on the FDA to look out for our safety, and to protect consumers from dangerous chemical exposures in food, drugs and personal care products. It is clear that the current voluntary system of industry self-regulation is not effectively protecting the American public from toxic chemicals in personal care products, and we demand reform. If the FDA is not protecting us, then who is? What is the FDA’s stance on 1,4-Dioxane and other carcinogens, mutagens and reproductive toxins in personal care products? When can I expect to see clear FDA guidelines requiring companies to eliminate 1,4-Dioxane contamination in their personal care products? Your timely response is important to me, and to my friends and family.
We will add your signature from the information you provide.

First Name*

Last Name*

Email*

Street*

Street 2

City*

State/Province*

Zip/Postal Code*

Send an Email