Demands for Proctor & Gamble to clean up products

9 May, 2010. Tags: Why Natural

The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics (CSC) has told Proctor & Gamble to remove a chemical linked to cancer and birth defects from its products. While this is all happening in the US, the laws in Australia controlling chemicals in cosmetics are very similar, meaning that we are likely to be exposed to similar risks.

P&G took a small and positive step in March 2010 when the company agreed to reduce the amount of cancer-causing 1,4-dioxane to less than 10 parts per million (ppm) - the level above which legal action has been taken under California's toxics law - in 18 Herbal Essences shampoos by July 2010.

That's a great start, but P&G can certainly do better. According to recent product tests, 1,4-dioxane (a chemical that does not appear on ingredient labels) was detected in P&G brands a lot of mums know well, at levels exceeding 10 ppm: Olay Complete Body Wash with Vitamins; Head & Shoulders Extra Volume Dandruff Shampoo; and several laundry detergents.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission says that 1,4-dioxane, even in trace amounts, is cause for concern - so why is the chemical found in so many consumer products?

Well, the good news is, it doesn't have to be! Many products tested (and even some P&G brands) contained no detectable levels of 1,4-dioxane at all. And, we know that it can be stripped from products before they hit store shelves. So no excuses, really. Just get rid of it.

This Mother's Day, as a tribute to the health of all beings, The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics is asking us to tell Procter & Gamble to eliminate 1,4-dioxane from all its products, and encourage the company to make all of its brands - from the hair product lines Fekkai and Pantene to Crest toothpaste - free of toxic chemicals including those linked to cancer and birth defects. Visit the website to find out how.

Demands for Proctor & Gamble to clean up products

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