Murray Discusses How Key Reforms She Delivered Will Help Protect Consumers from Unsafe Cosmetics

Murray discusses landmark reforms to cosmetics regulation she passed last year

Reforms come after years of effort from Murray and other Senators in response to alarming reports of asbestos, formaldehyde, benzene, and other carcinogens in household cosmetic products

Murray: “The bottom line is: people need to be able to trust the products they use all the time aren’t going to hurt them—and don’t contain poisons.”

***WATCH: Senator Murray discusses new reforms with expert, constituent from WA state***

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), hosted a virtual press conference with Scott Faber, the Senior Vice President of Government Affairs at the Environmental Working Group, and Sydney, a constituent from Washington state, to talk about the reforms she got signed into law at the end of 2022, which finally empower the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) with the tools it needs to better ensure cosmetic products are safe—and to discuss what these changes will mean for people in Washington state and all across the country.

“Everyone deserves to be able to trust that when they pick up some lipstick or baby powder at the drug store, it’s safe for them to use. But, over the last few years, we’ve seen way too many concerning incidents where that has simply not been the case. Just last fall, several dry shampoo brands were reported to have high levels of benzene, a grade A carcinogen,” said Senator Murray. “The bottom line is: people need to be able to trust the products they use all the time aren’t going to hurt them—and don’t contain poisons. Families deserve to know these products are safe. That seems pretty basic to me. But throughout its history—and I’m talking since it was founded really—the FDA simply has not had the authority it needs to meaningfully regulate these products. The industry has been left to regulate itself—which means families have been left on their own when it comes to making sure the products they use are safe.”

“It sounds so simple, but the products we rub on our bodies every day should be safe. Most Americans assume they are. But, until Senator Murray secured passage of MoCRA, companies making personal care products were under no statutory obligation to ensure they were safe,” said Scott Faber, Senior Vice President of Government Affairs at the Environmental Working Group. “Until Senator Murray secured passage of MoCRA, FDA could not even look at company safety records.”

In the last few years, there have been a number of alarming reports of unsafe cosmetic products making it to shelves and hurting consumers—with reports of asbestos in baby powder and in makeup sold to young people, carcinogens found in dry shampoo, formaldehyde in hair products, and more. But since the modern FDA was established in 1938 with the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, the agency has lacked the power it needs to ensure cosmetic products are safe for people to use. As the FDA itself has previously explained: until now, the agency has had “only limited tools to ensure the safety of cosmetics products” and ultimately it’s been up to manufacturers who “hold the responsibility for the safety and labeling of their products.”

Senator Murray has been pushing to fix this problem, modernize our laws, and finally empower the FDA with the tools it needs to keep unsafe products off the shelves—and that’s exactly what she just did. In December, Congress passed key reforms that Senator Murray negotiated as Chair of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) to give the FDA new tools it needs to keep families safe.

“What do these reforms mean for consumers? They mean more peace of mind—more confidence that the products they use each and every day are safe for use—and that when issues are reported, the FDA can finally take real action,” said Senator Murray. “But our work is not done yet, I’m going to be watching closely to make sure FDA is implementing these laws correctly and using these new tools effectively. And I’m going to keep working to give FDA the resources it needs to do this right.”

Among other steps, the reforms:

• Provide FDA the authority to order mandatory recalls of cosmetic products;
• Require manufacturers to report serious adverse events no later than 15 days after receiving the report;
• Require FDA to establish good manufacturing practice regulations;
• Require manufacturers to register facilities with FDA;
• Requires product labels to include contact information to report adverse events and to identify fragrance allergens in the label (and to propose regulation identifying those within one year of enactment);
• Require FDA to propose regulations to establish testing methods for detecting asbestos in talc-containing products not later than one year after enactment;
• Require FDA to assess the use of PFAS in cosmetics (and publish on its website no later than two years after enactment its assessment).

Senator Murray’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, are below:

“Thank you all for joining me to talk a bit about products people across our country use each and every day—everything from shampoo, to lotion, to makeup, to baby power and so much more, and to talk about the changes I’ve long pushed for—and just got signed into law!—to make sure these sorts of cosmetic products are on the up and up.

“Because everyone deserves to be able to trust that when they pick up some lipstick or baby powder at the drug store, it’s safe for them to use. But, over the last few years, we’ve seen way too many concerning incidents where that has simply not been the case.

“Just last fall, several dry shampoo brands were reported to have high levels of benzene, a grade A carcinogen. And it’s not the first time this dangerous chemical—which is linked to leukemia and blood cancers—has been found in cosmetics. It’s also been found in anti-perspirant sprays, and sunscreen sprays, to name just a few examples.

“And what’s more—benzene is far from the only cancer-causing chemical we’ve found in products people use every day. We’ve seen really harmful substances make their way into American homes in cosmetic products. We’ve found formaldehyde in hair products. We’ve found asbestos in children’s make up kits. I mean, my goodness, we’ve even found asbestos in baby powder!

“This is stuff people come in really close contact with and use all the time. Again, we’re talking about: lotion, deodorant, perfume, toothpaste, hairspray, lipstick, eyeliners, and so much more.

“The bottom line is: people need to be able to trust the products they use all the time aren’t going to hurt them—and don’t contain poisons. Families deserve to know these products are safe. That seems pretty basic to me.

“But throughout its history—and I’m talking since it was founded really—the FDA simply has not had the authority it needs to meaningfully regulate these products. The industry has been left to regulate itself—which means families have been left on their own when it comes to making sure the products they use are safe.

“When, for example, asbestos was found in makeup products sold to young people just a few years back, the FDA itself said it didn’t have the tools it needed to keep people safe—that the safety of cosmetics was largely up to their makers.

“So, this has been a big problem—and something I’ve been focused on fixing.

“I and so many of my colleagues have been pushing for years to change that. This is an effort that goes back to when Ted Kennedy was HELP Chair. It’s something Senators Collins and Feinstein really zeroed in on, and I was grateful to work with them to craft reforms to finally give the FDA the tools it needs to keep people safe.

“I pushed hard to get these reforms across the finish line, and I am so glad that last year we finally passed key reforms to bring FDA’s cosmetics regulation into the 21st century. These are simple, commonsense steps that give FDA much-needed tools so it can proactively work to ensure products are safe for use.

“So here’s what these steps do—and what they’ll mean for consumers in Washington state and all across the country. First, the new law ensures that the FDA knows who’s making cosmetic products, what products they’re making, and where.

“Second, it ensures that if people are getting hurt by products—whether that’s hair falling out, or getting severe rashes, or something more serious like cancer—companies have to provide a contact on their products so people can report any issues. And this is really key: it requires companies to report to the FDA within 15 days of any serious issues that have been reported—so that the FDA knows and can take appropriate action.

“And third, if a product is unsafe, thanks to the law we passed, FDA now, at long last, has the power to force a recall so we can get dangerous products off shelves and out of medicine cabinets before they hurt people.

“The reforms we got done take a number of other critical steps, as well—for example, to ensure proper testing of asbestos—but I won’t get into each and every detail right now. The point is: these are commonsense steps that were way overdue—and I’m glad we were able to get them passed in a bipartisan way last year.

“What do these reforms mean for consumers? They mean more peace of mind—more confidence that the products they use each and every day are safe for use—and that when issues are reported, the FDA can finally take real action.

“I’ll turn it over to him.”

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