"Fragrance" Stinks

[liveonearth]

Way back in 1973 the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act was passed, requiring that the ingredients in products be listed so we'd know what we're buying. Fragrances were specifically exempted from the law, because perfume makers would never let anyone know what was in their scents. Since then, under market pressures, companies have begun to use this loophole to put all manner of toxic materials into products. Any scented personal care product you purchase may contain hormonally active substances that could damage a developing fetus or reduce your fertility, trigger allergies, or be toxic in undiscovered ways. Many of these chemicals have not been tested at all. So use "fragrance" at your own risk, and please don't go perfuming yourself around pregnant women. Unless...you use pure essential oils from beneficial plants.

THE LAW
1973 Fair Packaging and Labeling Act
requires companies to list cosmetics ingredients on the product labels
specifically exempts fragrances
"Since then, the vague word "fragrance" is all you'll find on the label."
FDA lacks the authority to require manufacturers to test cosmetics for safety

THE PERFUME BIZ
fragrance industry has 3,100 stock chemical ingredients
chemical components in fragrance itself are protected as trade secrets
blend almost always kept hidden from the consumer
many scents are actually a complex cocktail of natural essences and synthetic chemicals – often petrochems
"Widespread exposure and a long-standing culture of secrecy within the fragrance industry continue to put countless people at risk of contact sensitization to fragrances with poorly tested and intentionally unlabeled ingredients (Schnuch 2007)."
Companies that manufacture perfume or cologne purchase fragrance mixtures from fragrance houses



THE EWG STUDY
recently released study of 17 name-brand fragrances
co-authored by EWG and the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics
they contain secret ingredients, chemicals not listed on the label
38 unlisted chemicals found
average fragrance tested contained 14 secret chemicals
chems assoc w hormone disruption, allergic reactions
many substances that have not been assessed for safety by the FDA
most not evaluated for safety by the International Fragrance Association (IFRA)
laboratory analysis of men’s and women’s fragrances as well as scented products marketed to teens
all products tested contained a range of ingredients associated with health concerns
tested by Analytical Sciences, an independent laboratory in Petaluma, California
lab found a total of 40 chemicals in the tested fragrance products
38 of these were secret, or unlabeled, for at least one of the products containing them
the other two were listed on all relevant product labels
labels disclosed the presence of another 51 chemical ingredients
total of 91 chemical ingredients
of the 17 products tested, 13 were purchased in the U.S. and four in Canada
testing revealed 38 secret chemicals in 17 name brand fragrance products
fragrance industry has published safety assessments for only 34% of the unlabeled ingredients
on average the 17 name-brand fragrances tested contained nearly equal numbers of secret and labeled ingred
14 chemicals kept secret, and 15 disclosed on labels
most secrets in: American Eagle Seventy Seven with 24
Chanel Coco with 18
and Britney Spears Curious and Giorgio Armani Acqua Di Gio with 17
average fragrance product tested contained 14 secret chemicals

TESTED
Chanel Coco
Old Spice
American Eagle Seventy Seven
Britney Spears Curious
Giorgio Armani Acqua Di Gio
and others

BIOACCUMULATION OF DEP
some chems with propensity to accumulate in human tissues:
diethyl phthalate, a chemical found in 97 percent of Americans (Silva 2004)
linked to sperm damage in human epidemiological studies (Swan 2008)

BIOACCUMULATION OF MUSK KETONE
synthetic that concentrates in human fat and breast milk (Hutter 2009; Reiner 2007)

HORMONE DISRUPTORS
sunscreen and ultraviolet-protector chemicals associated with hormone disruption (Schlumpf 2004)
A total of 12 different hormone-disrupting chemicals were found
average of four in each product
3 products each contained 7: Halle by Halle Berry, Quicksilver and Jennifer Lopez J. Lo Glow
In each product, six of these chemicals mimic the hormone estrogen
the seventh is associated with thyroid effects
some on label, some not

ALLERGIC TRIGGERS
24 chemical sensitizers that can trigger allergic reactions (European Commission Scientific Committee on Cosmetic Products and Non-Food Products (EC) 1999)
Multiple sensitizers: The products tested contained an average of 10 chemicals that are known to be sensitizers and can trigger allergic reactions such as asthma, wheezing, headaches and contact dermatitis
All of these were listed on product labels
Giorgio Armani Acqua Di Gio contained 19 different sensitizing chemicals (the most)

PRODUCTS IN WHICH "FRAGRANCE" IS USED
perfume, cologne
body spray
lotion and aftershave
shampoos
bath products
cleaning sprays
air fresheners
laundry and dishwashing detergents

NON-SCENT INGREDIENTS
solvents, stabilizers
UV absorbers, preservatives and dyes
not always on labels

EVALUATION OF INGREDIENTS BY THE FRAGRANCE BIZ
The Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR)
industry-funded and self policing body
has assessed only 19 of the 91 ingredients listed on labels or found in testing
International Fragrance Association (IFRA) and the Research Institute for Fragrance Materials (RIFM)
develop and set voluntary standards for chemicals in the “fragrance” component
have assessed 27 of the 91
based on a review of assessments published in the past 25 years

PREGNANT WOMEN SHOULD AVOID "FRAGRANCE"
recent EWG study found Galaxolide and Tonalide, two synthetic musks
in the cord blood of newborn babies (EWG 2009)
associated with toxicity to the endocrine system (van der Burg 2008)
pregnant woman’s use of fragrances/cosmetics may expose her growing fetus to diethyl phthalate (DEP)
DEP = solvent linked to abn development of reproductive organs in baby boys
and sperm damage in adult men (Washington Toxics Coalition 2009)
New research also links prenatal exposure of DEP
to clinically diagnosed Attention Deficit Disorder in children (Engel 2010)
This analysis found DEP in 12 of 17 products tested
levels ranging from 30 parts per million (ppm) to 32,000 ppm in Eternity for Women

MAY TURN TO FORMALDEHYDE
some ingredients react with ozone in the indoor air
-->formaldehyde and ultrafine particles (Nazaroff 2004)

SOURCE
http://www.ewg.org/notsosexy?utm_source=fragrance&utm_medium=email&utm_content=second-link&utm_campaign=toxics