I thought that the Safe Cosmetics Act was the best thing in the US since Bush stopped being prez, but it has been seized as an opportunity to boost big corporations by stifling small enterprises. Your fav mineral makeup & handmade soap sellers on Etsy ? You can kiss them goodbye if this Act is passed.
I will cite just one example of how this will come to be. Producers will need to list all trace elements found in their ingredients. Even water contains dozens of chemicals and minerals that differ vastly depending on its source. Do you think that a one-woman company can afford to re-test every batch of water they use ? No, they won´t have the time or money for the lab testing fees. The Safe Cosmetics Act treats multi-million dollar companies and tiny private sellers the same. Also, this will push companies to use less natural ingredients since the trace elements of stuff like essential oils varies all the time, unlike those of chemicals produced by the ton. This page explains the other problems with the Safe Cosmetics Act.
As you know, I am for more control over ingredients in cosmetics (and food). The US is way to lax with preventing some very harmful stuff from making its way into cosmetics and food (I live in Europe, where the govt is a tad more concerned about chemicals and GMOs). But I was hoping for measures that would actually help the consumers, not ones that would kill small companies. Small businesses are actually more conscientous about their ingredients anyway. You can find way more eco & skin friendly cosmetics on Etsy that in your local Sephora. I think that most small enterprises actually care about what their customers want -- as opposed to gigantic corporations who produce what they want using the cheapest ingredients and rely on heavy marketing to shove it down the customers throaths.
I´m now against the HR 5786. I´m still for honest labeling and banning of at least the most suspect chemicals in cosmetics and food. The HR 5786 Safe Cosmetics Act has to be heavily revised before it can actually help consumers.
You can help by signing the Petition Opposing the bill, following the #OpposeSCA hashtag on Twitter, and Voteing “Opposed” in the Open Congress poll. And of course spreading the word by blogging, Tweeting and what have you !
Big thanks to this lady for educating me on this issue.
