EWG Applauds Schumer and Gillibrand Petition to Ban Carcinogen in Personal Care Products

WASHINGTON – The Environmental Working Group commends Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand for protecting Americans from exposure to a potentially toxic contaminant in personal care products.

 

Schumer and Gillibrand will petition the Food and Drug Administration to prohibit the presence of 1,4-dioxane, a likely human carcinogen, from personal care products.

 

The contaminant, which is a byproduct of other cosmetics chemicals, may be found in products like shampoos, shower gels, body washes, foaming hand soaps, bubble baths and lotions.

 

“There is absolutely no reason why companies can’t remove 1,4-dioxane from personal care products,” Scott Faber, EWG senior vice president of government affairs, said. “This contaminant is linked to cancer and serves absolutely no purpose in cosmetics. We applaud Senators Schumer and Gillibrand for demanding that the FDA require all companies remove 1,4-dioxane from the products we use every day.”

 

Faber added that the presence of 1,4-dioxane in personal care products is “emblematic of how broken our cosmetics safety laws are.”

 

“Cosmetics companies like Mary Kay can put virtually anything – or leave virtually anything – in personal care products, including contaminants linked to cancer,” he said. “It’s time for Congress to finally update our cosmetics laws so consumers do not have to worry about cancer when they buy cosmetics.”

 

Consumers can try to avoid 1,4-dioxane by avoiding the following ingredients: PEG, polyethylene, polyethylene glycol, polyoxyethylene and -eth-.