Safety of Cosmetic Products for Babies Called Into Question by WECF France
WECF France research shows that baby cosmetics still contain too many ingredients of concern
16.02.2016 |
WECF France surveyed 341 baby cosmetics products sold in French pharmacies, parapharmacies, supermarkets and organic shops, and assessed their ingredients based on labels. Using analysis of existing scientific literature and opinions from European Union and French risk assessment agencies, experts classified ingredients or groups of ingredients into three categories: high risk, moderate risk and low or not identified risk.
WECF found that three ingredients or ingredient families it considered high risk are in 299 of the products. These include methylisothiazolinone, a contact allergen; perfume or fragrance, which may involve potential allergy risks, and phenoxyethanol, a preservative suspected to be reprotoxic.
There are also four ingredients or ingredient families that were classified as moderate risk found in 181 products. They are: EDTA, commonly used in foaming products; laureth and lauryl sulfate, which are foaming agents; mineral oils, byproducts of petroleum, which could be contaminated by impurities, and nanoparticles.
WECF did not publish the names of any products included in its study.
Due to the survey’s findings, the organization is calling on legislators to ban three “high-risk” ingredients for children under three years of age. It questions the use of unnecessary perfume or fragrance in baby cosmetics, and asks for the restriction on the inclusion of ingredients considered moderate risk plus a moratorium on suspected endocrine disruptors. WECF further recommends caution regarding ingredients whose risks are not clearly identified.
WECF also requests that the assessment of cosmetics’ safety be made based on product formula and not only on individual ingredients in products sold to consumers.
WECF adds: "We would strongly advise to label contact allergens as to make them easily identifiable by consumers, especially for potential contact allergens. We advise parents to limit the use of cosmetics and avoid as much as possible scented products.”
The press release can be found here
The full report (in French) can be found here (as PDF)
#cosmétiques bébés : encore trop de substances préoccupantes - le rapport de @WECF_FR https://t.co/ySIfZVBKmQ pic.twitter.com/do4pZmDgL7
— Elisabeth Ruffinengo (@RuffinengoE) February 15, 2016
Related News
Getting to the Future We Want
4-7 November, Brussels: European Environmental Bureau’s (EEB) Annual Conference
12.11.2018
Human Biomonitoring for Europe
Vienna, 26 September: stakeholder forum
28.09.2018
A life without plastic, wouldn't it be fantastic?!
Interview with Charlotte Schueler of @PlastikfreiLeben, who lives a zerowaste life in Munich, Germany and shares her experiences to her 25.2 thousand followers on instagram & 37.2 thousand followers on facebook
14.09.2018
Calling for periods free from plastic & hazardous chemicals
Letter to Frédérique Ries, MEP, European Parliament on behalf of the #BreakFreeFromPlastics movement
04.09.2018
