http://toxicbeauty.co.uk/blog Toxic Beauty Blog Tue, 21 Jul 2009 09:20:43 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en [caption id="attachment_568" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="Cosmetics and Cancer"][/caption] Cancer is the second leading cause of death in America, after heart disease and around one in four deaths in the EU are as a result of cancer. Cancer can be characterised as a cluster of diseases where normal cells multiply beyond normal growth ... http://toxicbeauty.co.uk/blog/2009/07/21/toxic-beauty-extracts-cosmetics-and-cancer/ [caption id="attachment_564" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="L'Oreal fail to back up marketing claims"][/caption] We all know that cosmetics companies embellish the truth when it comes to marketing their products. In fact when researching my book, Toxic Beauty, I found that most of their claims are unfounded. Simply put, no cosmetic product banishes wrinkles, ... http://toxicbeauty.co.uk/blog/2009/06/19/l%e2%80%99oreal-reprimanded-for-unsubstantiated-marketing-claims/ [caption id="attachment_559" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="Greenwashing cosmetics companies face lawsuits"][/caption] Greenwashers beware. According to an article published in a legal journal greenwashing brands may increasingly face litigation. Lawyers Victoria Davis Lockard and Josh Becker from US firm Alston & Bird warn that eco-fraud is ‘the latest flavor of consumer product class litigation’ ... http://toxicbeauty.co.uk/blog/2009/06/19/greenwashers-may-be-subject-to-increasing-litigation/ [caption id="attachment_552" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="Need for common 'nanomaterial' definition in cosmetics"][/caption] Dr Gerald Renner from Colipa has called for a common definition of the term ‘nanomaterial’ at a conference in Brussels on regulation of nanotechnology. Leading figures from industry, regulators and consumer groups gathered at the Transatlantic Consumer Dialogue (TACD) nanotechnology conference ... http://toxicbeauty.co.uk/blog/2009/06/19/colipa-scientist-calls-for-%e2%80%98nanomaterial%e2%80%99-definition/ [caption id="attachment_546" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="Will USDA-NOP finally explicitly include cosmetics?"][/caption] The boom in unofficial organic standards for cosmetic products is a huge source of confusion for consumers who don’t know which standards are the most stringent. I sometimes wonder if some members of the ‘organic’ industry enjoy the bewilderment because it ... http://toxicbeauty.co.uk/blog/2009/06/11/will-usda-organic-standards-finally-include-cosmetics/ [caption id="attachment_539" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="Natrue and NPA Join Forces"][/caption] European certifier of ‘natural’ cosmetics Natrue has signed a mutual recognition agreement with the Natural Products Association (NPA) in the US, meaning that products complying with the standards of either of these bodies will not have to undergo the full certification process ... http://toxicbeauty.co.uk/blog/2009/05/22/natrue-and-natural-products-association-join-forces/ [caption id="attachment_533" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="Organic Certification Boom Confuses Consumers"][/caption] The boom in organic certification schemes is counterproductive, confusing for consumers and draws attention away from producers of genuinely certified organic products, who are lost amongst larger competitors that dupe consumers with weak certification labels and false claims. “Certification wars” are well ... http://toxicbeauty.co.uk/blog/2009/05/21/organic-cosmetic-confusion/ [caption id="attachment_524" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="Environmental Chemicals Linked to Birth Defects"][/caption] Professor Richard Sharpe of the Medical Research Council highlighted in a report commissioned by CHEM Trust published last week that chemicals in consumer products may contribute to human male reproductive disorders that manifest at birth (cryptorchidism – undescended testes, hypospadias –where ... http://toxicbeauty.co.uk/blog/2009/05/21/scientist-links-chemical-cocktails-to-male-infertility-and-birth-defects/ [caption id="attachment_516" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="Beware: Greenwashing on the Rise"][/caption] A report published by North American environmental marketing firm TerraChoice Environmental Marketing, entitled The Seven Sins of Greenwashing (a follow up to the 2007 report, The Six Sins of Greenwashing) has revealed that the number of products making environmental claims has increased ... http://toxicbeauty.co.uk/blog/2009/05/06/report-reveals-greenwashing-is-rife/ [caption id="attachment_509" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="Schoolgirl Suffers Allergic Reaction to Hair Dye"][/caption] Today the Daily Mail reported a story about Carla Harris, a 15 year old schoolgirl who suffered a potent allergic reaction to L’Oreal Recital hair dye, causing her head to swell up to twice its normal size, leaving the teenager ... http://toxicbeauty.co.uk/blog/2009/04/16/schoolgirl-suffers-severe-allergic-reaction-to-l%e2%80%99oreal-hair-dye/