Cosmetic Industry Pinkwashing

24 October, 2010. Tags: Why Natural

The latest from The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics... This October ask Estee Lauder to help prevent breast cancer.

The following is new from The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics. You can find out more and take action at their website.

"Estee Lauder trumpets its commitment to breast cancer awareness through promotions and pink ribbons galore. Awareness about early detection and treatment options is important. But when one in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer, what we need most of all is to get chemicals linked to cancer out of products we use every day – including cosmetics from pink ribbon companies like Estee Lauder.

Some examples: Estee Lauder brands Bumble & Bumble, Aveda and Clinique contain chemicals that are likely to be contaminated with the carcinogens 1,4-dioxane or formaldehyde; Bobbi Brown Blush contains silica and titanium dioxide (which poses a risk of cancer from inhalation); and several Estee-owned brands still use parabens, which can act like estrogen in the body. Higher estrogen exposures throughout a woman's life can increase her risk of breast cancer, according to the latest scientific evidence.

It isn't just the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics talking about these crucial links. The President’s Cancer Panel concluded in its May 2010 report that many cancers are linked to environmental exposures. The Panel pointed to lax regulations around toxic chemicals, the fact that chemicals are allowed on the market without adequate safety data, and the (completely legal) use of known carcinogens and hormone disruptors in common products like cosmetics.

We know that Estee Lauder can make safer cosmetic products, free of ingredients linked to cancer. In fact, their Origins and Aveda brands have phased out some hazardous ingredients, but other Estee Lauder brands like M.A.C., Clinique and Bumble and Bumble have not.

Estee Lauder even lobbied against legislation in California that requires cosmetics companies to notify the state when they use chemicals linked to cancer and birth defects — while simultaneously launching Pink Ribbon campaigns to "raise awareness" about breast cancer.

In the absence of laws that protect us, we have to demand protection ourselves. This October, we want Estee Lauder to made a genuine commitment to women's health.

Join us in asking Estee Lauder to promise that every one of its brands will stop buying carcinogens and hormone disruptors from chemical companies in the first place.

P.S. Check out Evelyn Lauder's Huffington Post piece on breast cancer awareness, and post a comment telling her what you think! Then, learn which cosmetics chemicals are linked to breast cancer and how the pink ribbon came about."

Cosmetic Industry Pinkwashing

The latest from The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics... This October ask Estee Lauder to help prevent breast cancer.

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