WASHINGTON –EWG commended Procter & Gamble, the multinational manufacturer of family, personal care and household products, for taking a significant step today toward greater transparency about its ingredients by making public a list of more than 140 chemicals it does not use in any fragrances in its brands.
Reflecting growing consumer demand for more transparency and safer products, the company disclosed its full fragrance palette in 2012. Today it is publishing on its website its list of fragrance chemicals excluded from its products.
The list of chemicals P&G rejects includes a number that have been linked to endocrine disruption, reproductive toxicity and cancer. Those chemicals are still used by other companies in the market.
EWG believes that P&G’s action today is a win for consumer education and protection. We urge the company, as we urge every company in these markets, to take the further step of disclosing the fragrance ingredients specific to each product.
EWG President Ken Cook said:
This decision by Procter and Gamble is welcome news for its customers and could ripple across the entire industry. We understand that such changes do not happen easily or overnight in a company of P&G’s size. But it is clear that consumers are being heard. To its great credit, P&G is listening and taking positive action.I’m very encouraged and impressed by the P&G announcement and optimistic that before long fragrance ingredients will be fully transparent in the global market. The trend towards full transparency—in food, personal care, cleaning products and many other categories--is not just undeniable, it’s accelerating and irreversible.Consumers obviously want products that are effective and affordable. Increasingly they also insist on knowing what ingredients are in those products, and want to decide for themselves if those ingredients are safe. Today’s announcement makes clear that P&G is embracing these emerging consumer desires and preferences. The scale of the company and the enormous popularity of its many brands make P&G’s steps a global game-changer.We commend P&G’s leadership today and feel confident that other companies will soon follow the example P&G has set.
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