Far too many beauty and personal care companies still use microplastics and nanoplastics in product formulations, which is unacceptable given the environmental and human health impacts, says the founder of marine conservation NGO Plastic Soup Foundation.
A round-up of CosmeticsDesign-Europe’s most-read news from February 2023 shows interest in legislation around PFAs and microplastics, animal-free safety testing and predictions on hair care and biotech promise.
Several beauty brands and associations have signed an open letter to the European Commission (EC) calling for a faster and more complete ban on intentionally added microplastics in cosmetics.
A call from five EU national authorities to ban production, use and placement on the EU market of all perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAs) has been published in full by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) today.
Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden have submitted a proposal to the European Chemicals Agency ECHA calling for a restriction on perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAs) under the EU’s chemicals regulation REACH.
Animal welfare charity Humane Society International has published a white paper outlining a proposal to revise the EU chemicals regulation REACH, aiming to modernise the framework and drive uptake of non-animal testing methods.
Unilever-owned international beauty brand Dove is making a final push to inspire more European consumers to align on protecting the EU’s ban on animal testing in cosmetics.
Supply giant BASF says that whilst the European Green Deal’s Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability opens plenty of innovation opportunities, it will also cause significant disruption and challenges given the simplification of risk assessment and shrinking...
The publication of defined approaches to in silico skin sensitisation chemical assessment is a landmark moment for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) with significant implications for an animal-free future, say agency leaders.
The Long Read: In Conversation with Unilever Safety & Environmental Assurance Centre (SEAC) executives
The beauty industry continues to be stuck between conflicting requirements on animal testing, with bans under the EU Cosmetics Regulation and new data calls under the European Chemical Agency’s (ECHA) REACH Regulation, and the scientific community is...
The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has published advice on how industry can reliably combine non-animal data from different sources to assess skin sensitisation of chemicals in the EU, using the new Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development...
Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) have adopted a resolution vote calling on the European Commission to establish an EU-wide action plan to actively phase out animal experiments – a move that adds weight to the cosmetics industry’s fight to protect...
Industry must continue raising its concerns around the interface between ECHA and the Cosmetics Regulation on animal testing because there are issues that need to be debated and solutions found, says the director-general of Cosmetics Europe.
The Body Shop and Dove combining their scale and size brings a collective power to push forward calls to protect the EU’s existing animal testing ban on cosmetics, company executives say.
A study has identified a number of EU cosmetic ingredients tested on animals since the Cosmetics Regulation ban; data largely collected to prove worker and environmental safety under REACH or because alternative testing methods were rejected, researchers...
STATE OF THE INDUSTRY PART II: REFLECTING ON WHAT’S TO COME IN 2021
The European Green Deal will be the biggest policy challenge for the cosmetics and personal care industry in 2021, but industry must also focus on upcoming change around microplastics and digital services, says the director-general of Cosmetics Europe.
A coordinated approach amongst European Union policy makers that considers research, method and validation is needed for non-animal alternative cosmetic testing to fully replace animal data, says the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA).
The European Commission (EC) stands by its endorsement of calls made by the European Chemicals Agency’s (ECHA) Board of Appeal for animal data to verify worker safety of two cosmetic ingredients, despite a recent industry-signed open letter damning such...
More than 400 beauty companies and brands have signed an open letter addressed to the European Commission, Parliament and Council calling for new animal testing to be stopped, in adherence to the existing EU animal testing ban on cosmetic products and...
The cosmetics industry has heavily invested in advancing non-animal safety testing methods, now efforts must turn to driving regulatory acceptance of these next-generation alternatives, says the founder of animal-free testing lab XCellR8.
EU consumers are more aware of risks and benefits associated with nanomaterials, but the majority still demand better labelling on everyday products – a concern that warrants further study, says the European Union Observatory for Nanomaterials (EUON).
Procter & Gamble, Unilever, L’Oréal and Avon are among signatories of an open statement claiming the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) and its Board of Appeal is undermining the EU animal testing ban on cosmetics - a claim the agency refutes.
The European Commission (EC) has adopted a Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability to further strengthen protection of human and environmental health, including a phase out of the most harmful substances and simplification of the risk assessment process.
The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has displayed a very narrow view of the cosmetics and personal care industry in its proposal to restrict microplastics, underestimating the true value and complexity of the sector, says the director-general...
The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has added butylparaben to its Candidate List of substances of very high concern (SVHCs) because of its endocrine-disrupting properties – companies importing or producing products containing the substance now have six...
Under the lens Part II: REACH microplastics restriction
The proposed EU restriction on microplastics is edging closer and there is now a very clear sense on how this will impact beauty and personal care, says the director-general of Cosmetics Europe.
Under the lens Part I: REACH microplastics restriction
Cosmetics Europe and its member associations will continue their argument that the European Chemicals Agency’s (ECHA) proposal to restrict microplastics on the EU market remains disproportionately weighted against beauty and personal care.
Non-animal tests on chemical substances continue to be widely used in the EU, with read-across studies most popular and in vitro methods gaining traction, according to the European Chemicals Agency’s (ECHA) latest report.
Animal testing for scientific purposes across the European Union has declined in recent years and cosmetics is in a strong position to share advances made with in-vitro alternatives, says UK medical research charity FRAME.
The European Union must invest more in next-generation, non-animal chemical safety assessments to achieve its European Green Deal goals, and there are opportunities in in silico methods, says Cruelty Free Europe.
The European Chemicals Agency ECHA is sharply focused on tackling widespread incompliance with REACH registrations and dossiers, moving forward with a joint European Commission action plan.
Upcoming restrictions on use of microplastics, permanent make-up and cyclic siloxanes must be on the agenda for those working in beauty and personal care, says a REACH expert.
Specialty chemicals firm Innospec has developed a proprietary blend of low and high volatile silicones to replace D5 cyclic siloxane – an important move given the upcoming European ban, says its head of technical services for personal care.