Cosmetics Contaminated With Asbestos in Korea

South Korea media have reported that the Korean Food and Drug Administration (KFDA) has withdrawn several cosmetics and baby powder from the market under alleged contamination with asbestos.

Among the banned items are a face powder, a shading compact in two shades, a make up base and a face colour. The source of contamination would be a talcum powder imported from China by several distributors. Over 300 cosmetics companies, drug manufacturers, and baby powder companies are suspected to have purchased the tainted talc.

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Campaign for Safe Cosmetics: Carcinogens in Children’s Bath Products

A report called “No More Toxic Tub” released today by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics has revealed that, far from being safe and gentle, dozens of best-selling children’s bath products are contaminated with the cancer-causing chemicals formaldehyde and 1,4-dioxane. 

The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics commissioned an independent laboratory to test 48 products for 1,4-dioxane and formaldehyde. Findings included:
  
17 out of 28 (61 percent) products tested contained formaldehyde and 1,4- Read more

Cosmetics Companies Should be Concerned About Safety

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

The Organic Greenwashing Game: Part One

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

Toxic Shampoo Scare 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.  

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