Are your children's bath products safe?

This article published by the SafeCosmetics.org highlights the importance of all natural and organic personal care products for ourselves and our children. Remember, what we put on our bodies, is absorbed into our bodies.




http://safecosmetics.org//article.php?id=414


New Report: No More Toxic Tub

Getting Contaminants Out of Children's Bath & Personal Care Products
by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics


Despite marketing claims like “gentle” and “pure,” dozens of top-selling children’s bath products are contaminated with the cancer-causing chemicals formaldehyde and 1,4-dioxane, according to the March 2009 Campaign for Safe Cosmetics report, "No More Toxic Tub."


This study is the first to document the widespread presence of both formaldehyde and 1,4-dioxane in bath products for children, including baby shampoos, bubble baths and baby lotions. Many products tested contained both chemicals.


What We Found

The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics commissioned an independent laboratory to test 48 products for 1,4-dioxane; 28 of those products were also tested for formaldehyde.

The lab found that:

17 out of 28 products tested – 61 percent – contained both formaldehyde and 1,4-dioxane.

23 out of 28 products – 82 percent – contained formaldehyde at levels ranging from 54 to 610 parts per million (ppm).

32 out of 48 products – 67 percent – contained 1,4-dioxane at levels ranging from 0.27 to 35 ppm.




Health Concerns

While a single product might not be cause for concern, the reality is that babies may be exposed to several products at bath time, several times a week, in addition to other chemical exposures in the home and environment. Those small exposures add up and may contribute to later-life disease.


Formaldehyde and 1,4-dioxane are known carcinogens; formaldehyde can also trigger skin rashes in some children. Unlike many other countries, the U.S. government does not limit formaldehyde, 1,4-dioxane, or most other hazardous substances in personal care products.


Where They Come From

The chemicals were not disclosed on product labels because they're contaminants, not ingredients, and therefore are exempt from labeling laws.


Formaldehyde contaminates personal care products when common preservatives release formaldehyde over time in the container. Common ingredients likely to contaminate products with formaldehyde include quaternium-15, DMDM hydantoin, imidazolidinyl urea and diazolidinyl urea.


1,4-dioxane is a byproduct of a chemical processing technique called ethoxylation, in which cosmetic ingredients are processed with ethylene oxide. Manufacturers can easily remove the toxic byproduct, but are not required by law to do so. Common ingredients likely to be contaminated with 1,4-dioxane include PEG-100 stearate, sodium laureth sulfate, polyethylene and ceteareth-20.


What You Can Do

Contrary to industry statements, there are no regulatory standards that limit formaldehyde, 1,4-dioxane or most other toxic chemicals in personal care products sold in the United States. There are signs the U.S. is gearing to catch up, but for now it's up to consumers to consider carefully before they buy.


Here's some suggestions for safeguarding your family's health:

Simplify: Select products with fewer ingredients and no synthetic fragrance or dyes, and use fewer products overall.

Choose safety: Search EWG's cosmetic safety database, Skin Deep, to learn more about the products you use and find safer alternatives. Also check out EWG's Safety Guide to Children’s Personal Care Products.

Read labels: Select products for baby and yourself that don't contain the ingredients listed above, which are commonly contaminated with formaldehyde or 1,4-dioxane.

Take action! Can’t memorize these lists? Nobody can. If harmful contaminants and ingredients weren’t allowed in products, you wouldn’t have to. Tell Congress you want safe cosmetics for babies, adults and everyone in between.

Spread the word: Send an e-card letting friends and family know about this report.


Status Update

A major supermarket in China has pulled Johnson & Johnson products from the shelves amid concerns that the products are contaminated with carcinogens, driven by our testing. The Chinese government is also reportedly testing products. The Vietnamese Drug Administration announced March 16 that it will test baby products in that country. So far, there has been no action by the U.S. FDA.


Go here to see the full report.

Campaign for Safe Cosmetics

It is so important to know what we are REALLY putting on our bodies. All though many products claim they are "safe" or "natural" they are anything but that. I first became aware of SafeCosmetics.org when I was searching out safe sunscreen. I had read an article that explained the many different toxins and carcinogenic ingredients that are included in sunscreens and I couldn't believe that I was religiously and voluntarily slathering this junk all over me and my kids 6 months out of the year.

Thanks to SafeCosmetics.org, I now only buy sunscreen that is considered a "low hazard" so my family and I still get great sun protection without all the dangerous chemicals. I also check on lotion, hair care products, makeup, toothpaste, etc.

SafeCosmetics.org "is a national coalition of nonprofit health and environmental organizations. Our collective goal is to protect the health of consumers and workers by requiring the personal care products industry to phase out the use of chemicals linked to cancer, birth defects and other serious health concerns, and replace them with safer alternatives. The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics is working with endorsing organizations, responsible businesses and thousands of citizen activists to shift the cosmetics market toward safer products and to advocate for smarter laws that protect our health from toxic chemicals and encourage innovation of safer alternatives."

One great thing about Affordable Mineral Makeup™ and Earth Mama Angel Baby™ is that they have signed the "Compact for Safe Cosmetics" - a pledge to formulate products that do not use ingredients that are known or suspected to cause certain health harms within three years of signing. We may be small but we care about our customers and the ingredients that go into our products. Read the Compact document or see a complete list of the signers. You can also search companies by name and find out if they have signed the "Compact for Safe Cosmetics" or if they test on animals (neither AMM™ or EMAB™ test on animals)

Check out SafeCosmetics.org and their database today!