Laws & Regulations |
Major loopholes in U.S. federal law allow the $50 billion cosmetics industry to put unlimited amounts of chemicals into personal care products with no required testing, no monitoring of health effects and inadequate labeling requirements. In fact, cosmetics are among the least-regulated products on the market.
This section explores what's being done to change the broken U.S. system, and how other countries are leading the way in smarter laws that protect their citizens. |
 | Federal Legislation In order for real oversight of cosmetics by the U.S. FDA, Congress must change existing federal law. |
 | FDA Regulations The FDA does not review – nor does it have the authority to regulate – what goes into cosmetics before they are marketed to salons and consumers. |
 | State Legislation In the absence of federal oversight, states have taken steps to ensure that consumers have access to safer cosmetics and more information about the products they buy. |
 | European Laws The European Union has more stringent and protective laws for cosmetics than the United States. |
 | Canadian Laws The Canadian government recently created a Cosmetic Ingredient Hotlist that includes hundreds of prohibited and restricted chemicals and contaminants |
| Legislator Lookup Don't know who your elected officials are? Look them up here (U.S. only). |
