American reality television star Kourtney Kardashian is lobbying for a safer beauty and personal care industry.
Taking to social media to promote a recent episode of her family’s reality TV series “Keeping Up With the Kardashians,” the eldest Kardashian sister wrote: “On tonight’s episode of #kuwtk, I was in Washington DC advocating for better cosmetics laws with @EnvironmentalWorkingGroup. Right now, we can’t even buy the personal care products our families need without worrying about them containing harmful chemicals.”
Founded in 1992, nonprofit activist organization Environmental Working Group (EWG) campaigns for various causes, including public land use, and agricultural subsidies. It also creates annual the “Dirty Dozen” list of pesticide loads on produce, and ranks ingredients in personal care products like cosmetics and sunscreen in its Skin Deep database.
Alongside EWG president Ken Cook Kardashian took to Capitol Hill in April to speak to reporters and congressional staffers about the need for legislative change to personal care product regulations.
According to EWG, the FDA does not require safety testing of ingredients used in cosmetics and other personal care products before being put on the market. The FDA currently has limited authority over cosmetics regulations and existing laws have remained largely unchanged since 1938.
“You shouldn’t have to do all of the research when it comes to making sure your family’s products are free of toxic ingredients. It’s time to tell Congress to do its job, and pass new cosmetics legislation,” Kardashian continued.
An EWG-conducted analysis of government and industry sources in 2007 revealed that at least 146 cosmetics ingredients – none of which are regulated by the federal government – may contain harmful ingredients linked to health issues, including cancer. An extensive look at the ingredients in 7,500 personal care products showed that some of the potentially harmful products are widely used by the industry.
“Most Americans assume that the personal care products they use every day are safe,” said Nneka Leiba, director of EWG’s healthy living science program, in a statement. “But the Food and Drug Administration does not even require safety testing of ingredients in personal care products before they are put on the market.”
The EWG is a supporter of the Personal Care Products Safety Act, a bill introduced by Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), and Representative Frank Pallone (D-N.J,). The bill would allow the FDA the means to ensure the safety of ingredients used in personal care products, similar to how it regulates food items.
Kardashian concluded her post with a call to action: “Want your voice to be heard? Join us in our mission. #BeautyMadeBetter.”
To help consumers identify what is in their products in the meantime, the EWG has launched the Healthy Living app, a database of more than 120,000 food and personal care items.
