On July 20, 2010, legislation was introduced in Congress  “To amend title VI of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to ensure the safe use of cosmetics, and for other purposes.”

We all know there is a lot of “junk” in our personal care products. We know of the drying, harsh effects of detergents. We know that many commercially produced products have ingredients that are known to cause cancer and reproductive issues in animals when used in large amounts. It is a travesty that these ingredients are allowed to be put into products used by babies, children, and all of us other humans, too. The writers of this legislation obviously recognized the need for regulating what can be used in our nation’s cosmetics. Unfortunately, they missed the boat with this garbage bill they want to push through.

If HP 5786 is allowed to pass, it will effectively put an end to the cottage industry of natural soapcrafting. It will squelch our ability to be creative, to choose suppliers that offer the best quality and pricing on our raw materials, and will require us to file documents, registrations and updates about our revenues, employees, suppliers and proprietary recipes.

The complete bill can be read by clicking here:  HR5786

The text of the “Registration” section of the bill requires that all manufacturers of cosmetic products furnish:

“(B) a description of the establishment’s activities with respect to cosmetics;

(C) the number of workers employed at the establishment;

(D) the gross receipts of sales; and

(E) the name and address of any company that supplies the establishment, if the establishment manufactures cosmetics, with any ingredient (including preservatives, fragrances, or any other chemical component of a finished cosmetic product) and the name of the ingredient supplied to such establishment by such supplier.”

While this may not seem like a big deal, consider that many of us smaller soap making business (unlike Proctor and Gamble, for example), are creative types, who constantly come up with new scents, and formulas for their soaps. What does the bill say about making changes?

“(A) IN GENERAL- The registrant shall notify the Secretary in a timely manner of changes to the information described in paragraph (1).”

So, every time I use a new ingredient, or change suppliers,  I will have to forward new documents to the Secretary.

Additionally, there is a provision that states I must “notify the Secretary of any change in the products, function, or legal status…including cessation of business activities,  not later than 60 days after the date of such change.”

The companies who really should be targeted with legislation such as this are the huge commercial manufacturers who only care about profit. They are the ones using synthetically derived detergents in their body products. They are the ones who use labeling such as Clairol’s Herbal Essences that falsely leads consumers into thinking the product is actually GOOD for them…

Unfortunately, the text of this bill makes no distinction between small and large businesses as far as the registration policies are concerned. We certainly do need to reform the cosmetic industry. I just don’t think that lumping all natural cosmetic makers into the same boat as corporate, synthetic beauty product behemoths  is the way to go.

Please help us fight this poorly written legislation by signing this petition:

Sign Petition Opposing HR 5786

Reform is definitely needed, but this is not the reform we need.

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Monday, July 26th, 2010, 5:22 pm   |   HR 5786 The Safe Cosmetics Act 2010, The Business of Natural Soap, Uncategorized  |  RSS feed |  Respond  |  Trackback