Cosmetics Companies Should be Concerned About Safety
February 27, 2009 by DawnM
Filed under Health Issues
Peanut Scandal Sends out Warning
Guy Montague-Jones writing on Cosmeticsdesign.com warns that cosmetics manufacturers should be wary of toxic chemicals in cosmetics and “learn from the mistakes made in the food and banking industries.” The contamination of products made by the Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) has resulted in six deaths and made 600 people ill, leaving in its wake “a trail of corporate irresponsibility that would have been difficult to imagine three months ago…The Peanut Corporation of American is the perpetrator of a tragedy that reflects a failure to properly prioritise risk in modern business.”
Guy compares the toxic assets now crippling the global financial system to Read more
Living a Healthy Lifestyle Could Reduce Many Cancers
February 26, 2009 by DawnM
Filed under Cancer, Health Issues
Healthy Living Prevents Cancer
Surprise, surprise, a study commissioned by the World Cancer Research Fund and the American Institute for Cancer Research, has suggested that living a healthier lifestyle could prevent approximately a third of the most common cancers in rich countries and a quarter in poorer countries.”
The study involved 23 experts who assessed the incidence of 12 common cancers across the world and data on diet, exercise and weight, to identify how these factors contributed to a range of cancers.
Ethical Business Guide Denounces Greenwashing
February 26, 2009 by DawnM
Filed under Industry Marketing
The Ethical Business Guide
The Ethical Business Guide produced by Kim Stoddart and Tor Goldfield of ethical PR company BlueRocket, advising businesses starting out in the ethical realm, has suggested that people are warming to ethical businesses due to mistrust of traditional business practices and criticises greenwashing, saying
“The public has become weary of grand claims, which can, when investigated further, amount to little more than fancy marketing. So it is essential that any claims a company makes can stand the test of time.”
Natrue and QAI Work on Recognition Agreement
February 24, 2009 by DawnM
Filed under Greenwashing
Alliance between Certification Bodies
Natrue, an interest grouping of international cosmetic manufacturers, who have developed their own ‘natural’ and ‘organic’ standards, are working on a mutual recognition agreement with Quality Assurance International (QAI) in the US, to ensure that products complying with the Natrue or NSF/ANSI 305 ‘made with organic’ standard will be recognised by both bodies. The alliance is to cut costs and save time for manufacturers, according to the Natrue General Secretary.
Natrue was launched last year and 120 products have been certified already. Natrue represent cosmetic companies such as Lavera, Logona, Primavera, Read more
The Organic Greenwashing Game: Part One
February 23, 2009 by DawnM
Filed under Greenwashing
The Organic Greenwashing Game
So, you’ve purchased a raft of delightfully fragrant and attractively packaged beauty products, lured by the promise of natural botanicals, but are you being conned?
We are becoming increasingly enamoured with beauty brands marketed as ‘natural’ and ‘organic,’ understandably anticipating that we are purchasing something that has undergone minimal processing in the period between being plucked from the earth and ploughed into a cosmetic formulation. According to market analysts Organic Monitor global sales of ‘natural’ and ‘organic’ cosmetics are increasing by over $1 billion a year, and it is forecast Read more
US Advisor Talks About Nanotech Regulation
February 17, 2009 by DawnM
Filed under Interviews, Nanotechnology
Terry Davies Talks Nanotech
J. Clarence (Terry) Davies, Senior Advisor to the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies and Senior Fellow at Resources for the Future, is one of the foremost authorities on environmental research and policy. Here he talks about the regulation of nanotechnology.
Q: Do you think governments are doing enough to protect consumers from the potential health risks associated with nanomaterials, especially with regards to cosmetic products? If not what kind of regulatory framework do you think they should put into place?
Read more
The Lowdown on Organic Brand Spiezia
February 13, 2009 by DawnM
Filed under Alternative Brands, Organic Industry
Interview with Spiezia Founder
Spiezia Organics are are Cornwall-based manufacturer of 100 percent Soil Association certified Products. Co-owner Amanda answers some questions about the brand.
Q: How and why was Spiezia established?
The Spiezia Organic range was originally established some 10 years ago by Dr. Mariano Spiezia - a qualified medical Doctor who subsequently studied to practice homeopathic medicine, believing that the power of nature and herbs was a better and more powerful way to heal. Mariano had already Read more
Toxic Shampoo Scare in Middle East
February 13, 2009 by DawnM
Filed under Cancer, Health Issues, Regulation
Carcinogen Found in Shampoo in Middle East
According to Cosmetics Design Europe Saudi and Dubai health authorities have issued warnings after incidences of toxicity in a variety of shampoos sold to consumers. The Dubai Municipality has banned 17 imported shampoos contaminated with the carcinogen 1,4-dioxane and The Saudi Food and Drug Authority has issued a warning over Rolana Baby Shampoo, which was found to be contaminated with the bacteria serratia maracescens. This has allegedly made 13 babies sick and resulted in the death of one child. The bacteria can cause urinary infections, meninjitus, toxemia and other health problems, particulary in infants.
FDA Fails to Protect Says Campaign for Safe Cosmetics
February 13, 2009 by DawnM
Filed under Regulation, United States
US FDA Fails to Protect Public
More than a year after the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics reported that popular brands of lipstick contain lead, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has still not released the results of its own testing of lead in lipstick, despite pressure from senators and repeated calls from health groups.
New reports indicate that the beauty industry’s lead problems go further than lipstick. The Canadian government announced last week it found lead in children’s face paint. The results were publicly announced immediately as Read more
MEP Calls for Greater Nanotech Regulation
February 13, 2009 by DawnM
Filed under Nanotechnology, Regulation
Nanotech Dream will Turn to Ashes?
Concerns about the impact of nanotechnology on our health and the environment are prompting calls for stricter regulation in the European Union. The European Parliament is assembling a draft report in relation to the regulation of nanomaterials. The report suggests that
“nanomaterials…potentially present significant new risks due to their minute size, such as increased reactivity and mobility, possibly leading to increased toxicity in combination with unrestricted access to the human body… The current discussion about nanomaterials is characterised by many contradictions or even paradoxes, with disagreement and thus political
Read more
