Sign the Petition for Safe Celeb Fragrances!

Dear Jennifer Lopez, Britney Spears, Halle Berry and Miley Cyrus,

Congratulations on your astounding success as singers, producers, actresses, dancers and businesswomen. Between the four of you, you have hit the top of the charts, won groundbreaking awards, been listed among the most influential people and powerful celebrities in the world, and become role models for millions of young women. Perhaps most importantly, you have used your position to speak out in support of human rights, public health and the role of youth in communities, for which we applaud you!

We are sure that you know the responsibility that comes with celebrity. With this in mind, we’re writing to ask you to take a stand against toxic chemicals in personal care products and cosmetics, beginning with your own fragrance collections.

Most people – regardless of fame or income – assume that the government is ensuring that cosmetics sold in the US are safe. Unfortunately, this is not the case; it is perfectly legal for cosmetics like shampoo, baby lotion, or scented products to contain hazardous chemicals. So when you decided to launch your own line of fragrances, you probably had no idea that your brand could contain toxic chemicals linked to hormone disruption, skin sensitivity, or other health problems.

Recently, the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics analyzed 17 fragranced products, including Glow by JLO, Britney Spears Curious, Hannah Montana Secret Celebrity and Halle by Halle Berry at an independent laboratory. Campaign partner Environmental Working Group assessed data from the tests and from ingredient labels. The May 2010 study, “Not So Sexy: The health risks of secret chemicals in fragrance,” documents the troubling results. The products marketed under your names each contained:

• 11 or more secret chemicals not listed on labels due to a loophole in federal law that allows companies to claim fragrances as trade secrets

• Multiple sensitizing chemicals that can trigger allergic reactions including asthma, wheezing, headaches and contact dermatitis

• Hormone disrupting chemicals linked to a wide range of health problems, including an increased risk of breast and prostate cancer, reproductive toxicity and effects on the developing fetus

• Many of the chemicals in your products have not been assessed by the beauty industry’s self-policing safety panels

These mixtures of unregulated, unstudied and unlabeled chemicals are a major health concern. Last week the President’s Cancer Panel report warned that cancer risk from unregulated toxic chemicals has been vastly underreported. The Cancer Panel recommended that people avoid exposure to hormone-disrupting chemicals when they are pregnant, planning to become pregnant and when children are small. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/06/opinion/06kristof.html
Fragrance chemicals are inhaled or absorbed through the skin, and studies show that many of them end up inside people’s bodies, including pregnant women and newborn babies. Of course, fragrance chemicals are just the tip of the iceberg- we know that we’re all exposed to toxic and untested chemicals in food, air, water and products like canned foods, toys and electronics everyday. And we know that small exposures to these toxic chemicals add up quickly, and can be extremely potent during vulnerable times in life, such as in the womb or during puberty. The links between growing health epidemics such as cancer, infertility and obesity and the chemicals we’re exposed to daily are cause for concern, and for fast action.

Ms. Lopez, Ms. Spears, Ms. Berry and Ms. Cyrus, imagine the hundreds of thousands of your fans buying your fragrances which may very well be adding to their toxic chemical body burden. We’re sure that you will agree this is an upsetting image. But the great news is, we know that products can be effective and enjoyable while being safe and non-toxic, and you have the power to help make a huge shift in this direction!

Please urge the companies that manufacture your fragrances to remove chemicals from them that scientific studies have linked to a number of health problems affecting millions of Americans. You can use your tremendous influence to do the right thing and to help all of us, including your small children (and your future kids, if you choose to have a family, Miley!), lead healthier, happier lives without secret toxic chemicals in products or in our bodies.

We also ask you to join us as we ask Congress to fix our broken and outdated laws to ensure all cosmetics and personal care product on our shelves are safe and free from toxic ingredients.

We look forward to hearing from you via correspondence with the national Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, a non-profit coalition effort launched in 2004 to protect the health of consumers and workers by securing the corporate, regulatory and legislative reforms necessary to eliminate dangerous chemicals from cosmetics and personal care products.

Thank you for taking our health seriously and for all that you do to inspire and speak for people all over the world!