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If Bath & Body Works Won't Deliver Non-toxic Cosmetics, Make Your Own!

Ask Bath & Body Works for safe products! Bath & Body Works 3-in-1 Bubble Bath, Body Wash and Shampoo in Cool Kiwi Berry is totally aimed at kids: it's brightly colored, heavily scented, multi-tasking (3-in-1!) and has a cute little reindeer with a cheery scarf on the front of the package. The chemical ingredients aren't so kid-friendly, including sodium laureth sulfate, propylene glycol, and PEG-12 and PEG-150, which are often contaminated with an unlabeled cancer-causing impurity called 1,4-dioxane.

Also on the back of the bottle is a warning: "CAUTION: Use only as directed. Excessive use or prolonged exposure may cause irritation to skin and urinary tract … Keep out of reach of children except under adult supervision."

Kids' soap doesn't need to contain ingredients that may damage the skin and urinary tract in the short term, or ingredients that are linked to other serious health effects in the longer term, like early puberty (which is a risk factor for breast cancer) or reproductive harm. Gifts like those sold at Bath & Body Works add to the multiple chemical exposures we face every day from sources like other cosmetics, food and furniture – and there's nothing cheery about that.

Currently, the government doesn't regulate the cosmetics industry, so it's perfectly legal for soap to contain carcinogenic contaminants. We’re working to change this, but in the meantime, we're calling on Bath & Body Works to voluntarily clean up its products.

Send Bath & Body Works your wishes for safe and healthy bath products by copying the letter below, adding your own comments and submitting it on the company's customer comment form. You can also deliver your message to their customer service line at (800) 395-1001.

After you send your letter, check out two safe and fun ideas: make your own safe cosmetics and/or throw a safe cosmetics party for friends.

>>Learn More

May 18, 2013

Subject:

Dear Bath & Body Works,

I want Bath & Body Works to phase out toxic chemicals in the products on your company's shelves, starting with those products marketed to children. I hope that since your company calls itself a "values-driven company" you will recognize that children's soap should not contain ingredients or contaminants linked to cancer or reproductive harm, and that all of your customers deserve clean products that pose no risk to health or the environment. The U.S. regulatory system is failing to protect consumers from toxic chemicals in cosmetics and other personal care products—but that doesn't mean that Bath & Body Works has to fail, too. I call on Bath & Body Works to sign the Compact for Safe Cosmetics, and work to substitute any known or suspected hazardous chemicals from all products in Bath & Body Works stores. Thank you.
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