more cosmetics...
I talked about a bill Sen. Anderson was working on in the MN Senate. I sat in on a committee where it was heard, and think the bill is worth mentioning again. Sen. Anderson brought in American and European (Spanish, British, and French) magazines all advertising products that appear in our magazines and theirs. The point she was making was that it is possible to produce the same products under the standards of E.U. regulations that are nonexistent within the F.D.A.
The site I mentioned earlier shows toxins present in common cosmetics. California is working on a database in which all cosmetics sold in the state must register products used. The hearing welcomed two cosmetics company representatives who argued that the same regulations apply hear as do in Europe. Because SkinDeep is a nonprofit organization, perhaps the California government database will allow for less discrepancy in information.
Sen. Anderson’s bill changed a bit. It focuses on fragrance, because there are rules that state fragrance companies are not required to disclose everything used in the creation of their product. The idea is that there are “secret� ingredients that other companies could get ahold of and reproduce the product. Sen. Anderson decided to focus the legislation in this direction because the California database will be accessible everywhere. However, it does not include fragrance at all. I see it as a joint effort among states to cover what the federal government neglects.
I find it unfortunate that, again, the U.S. government neglects a specifically women’s issue. I was also shocked by the amount of hesitation female senators in the hearing gave the bill. It is a disclosure bill, but somehow, carcinogenic toxics affect them less than the idea of showing up to work with a natural face. Don’t get me wrong, I have my share of makeup and continue to use it, regardless of what i found on SkinDeep, but am also trying to phase out the worse things. I think it is a testament to society, when women are willing to risk health for beauty. But then, Kanye’s mother was only a big enough name to get attention for the risk she took and lost to plastic surgery...