Herland Sister Resources

For decades, cosmetic companies have made products containing chemical compounds that have been linked to reproductive birth defects and cancer. The compounds are phthalates (pronounced THA-laytes) and they help cosmetics adhere without smudging. The European Union has banned phthalates from all cosmetics and now a coalition of advocacy groups has given U.S. companies a deadline to support a ban.

Three environmentally-conscious manufacturers (Body Shop International, Urban Decay Cosmetics and Aveda Corporation) have already volunteered to remove phthalates from all their products. Estee Lauder Companies, Inc. and Procter and Gamble were the only large, multinational companies to follow suit–and they have done so by removing phthalates from one product only, nail polish. Now, Avon Products, Inc has. announced it will remove phthalates from all its makeup as a result of their “wish to allay public concern, not a safety concern,” contending that phthalates are not dangerous.

“Chemicals linked to birth defects and infertility don’t belong in cosmetics,” says Bryony Schwan, a spokesperson for the Montana-based advocacy group Women’s Voices for the Earth. “We demand that manufacturers act responsibly and immediately remove them from the products that we use every day.”

Source: www.womensenews.com