I am a small natural ingredients importer and personal care products manufacturer. I join a growing group of 1,265 consumers and other small companies to oppose H.R. 5786. Please read our statement of opposition and consider what this bill will do squelch innovation coming from emerging indie companies already working to bring you safer personal care products. This bill is vague and over-reaching and will not keep consumers safe. It will burden small companies with unnecessary reporting. It will curb ongoing innovative research and development in the natural products industry.
You can find our petition here:
http://bit.ly/dqA2vW
Thanks for listening.

I fully support H.R.5786. I am not in this industry now, other than as a green beauty writer, however, I was in cosmetics and skincare sales and formulation. I had a line of natural facial care products which were featured in a Martha Stewart magazine and in countless blogs and beauty sites. I understand, to an extent, where the small businesses are coming from, but I am still in favor of this.

Owners of companies who do not test their products or label properly are putting the public at risk. I am not a lab rat and want more regulation.

It is time for a real change. There needs to be regulation. Our products are NOT safe!

I am in total agreement with Marcia. When the Safe Cosmetics Act first came out, I was the first one to agree with it. But, after reading through the bill I realized that the bill is being backed by some powerfull tax-exempt organizations and is just another form of reguation that small business owners do not need. As an example, I already list all of my ingredients on my product labels. I file my taxes and pay them. This bill will bog me down in excess paperwork and is just another form of censorship by the government. I urge people to read this bill between the lines!

I agree with Karley-I hope the regulation goes through - the big companies are the beneficiaries of the system the way it is-there needs to be system in place no doubt!

There has been a good bit of debate about the impact of this proposed legislation on the small business community. The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, of which EWG is a founding member, put together this helpful description of how the bill, in its current form (which will likely change through the legislative process) will affect the small business community - it's here: http://www.safecosmetics.org/article.php?id=695#small-business. I think you'll find it to be a useful addition to the conversation.

There is a lot of false information circulating about the bill. It would provide many benefits to small businesses (such as making toxicity data available and giving consumers more information to make informed choices).

As with any bill, there are details to be worked out through the democratic process and by the FDA (the bill doesn't specify what kind of testing will have to be conducted and so the bit about having to conduct thousands of dollars of tests for each product just isn't true).

I don;t like the way this bill is written or a lot of the things I read.

The bill will duplicate the mandate that is in the new proposed revision to the Toxic Substance Chemicals ACt - why should 2 agencies do the same things and why should we pay for that? The real problem is the chemical companies anyway - why should dangerous chemicals be allowed in any consumer product? We need to deal with this at the root, not in a single category. Support the TSCa REform bill.

Reading that the FDA needs more authority to ban a substance is just crazy talk! They have a list of banned substances and can add them at any time. It is against the law to sell unsafe products and they have what they need to enforce that - except for money and trained personnel. I have friends in the drug industry who have been worried about the diminishing inspection by FDA since the first Bush administration.

There are problems, but most of them are not from some chemist deciding to kill a consumer. It just does not work that way.

Let's keep our priorities straight. Have the EPA mandated to make a support safe and environmentally sound chemicals and everything else should be a lot easier.

Legislation is important and so is personal responsibility. Learning how to read labels now while waiting for better legislation is the smartest way to avoid unsafe cosmetics immediately. Here is a great article about avoiding reactions and infections from cosmetics. Let's educate ourselves!
http://biovedawellness.com/2010/08/cosmetic-safety-and-allergy/

The proposed Safe Cosmetics Act of 2010 will undoubtedly hurt ALL small businesses and will not make things easier for consumers but will confuse them even more. I am among thousands of business owners and consumers who have signed a petition opposing this ill-thought out bill. Instead of helping consumers, it would put them more than two steps back. Instead of creating efficiencies in our industry, it would stifle business growth (if not kill it) and reduce the wide range of safe, quality cosmetics available to us.

A recent article by renowned aromatherapist Robert Tisserand excellently and thoughtfully sums up the concerns raised and the ramifications should this bill be passed:
http://roberttisserand.com/2010/08/the-safe-cosmetics-act-2010/.