Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Online Safety Guide to Cosmetics and Personal Care Products

Online Safety Guide to Cosmetics and Personal Care Products

"Due to gaping loopholes in federal law, companies can put virtually any ingredient into personal care products. Even worse, the government does not require pre-market safety tests for any of them…. Mercury, lead, and placenta extract – all of these and many other hazardous materials are in products that millions of people, including children, use every day," according to the Environmental Working Group (EWG), a nonprofit research organization dedicated to consumer safety.

The EWG's Cosmetic Safety Database

That's why the EWG created its Skin Deep cosmetic safety database. This free searchable database is an elegant, lightning fast, highly detailed safety guide you can use to find out what's in your cosmetics and personal care products.

The database offers "Hazard Concern" safety ratings for more than 27,000 products, under 1,675 brand names, including more than 17,000 unique chemicals (listed under some 65,000 names). Products are organized into eight major categories and more than 90 subcategories. The safety ratings draw on information from more than 50 toxicity and regulatory databases, and the service has attracted 47 million searches since it went live in 2004.

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