Tony,

Have you seen “fragrance” on your shampoo ingredients list and wondered what this meant?

Due to the fragrance loophole and lax oversight, “fragrance” could refer to a cocktail of different chemicals — potentially numbering in the thousands — and even ones linked to serious health problems.

U.S PIRG partnered with other groups to release a report that tested 140 different beauty, personal care and cleaning products. The report found 338 different fragrance chemicals in the tested products, 1 in 4 of which are linked to serious chronic health effects.¹

Urge your representative to close the “fragrance” loophole by passing the Safe Cosmetics and Personal Care Products Act of 2018.

The two worst products according to the report were:

• Just for Me: A shampoo marketed to children of color. It contained the most hazardous chemicals, 60 percent of which were fragrance chemicals that did not appear on the label.²
• JLo Glow Perfume: A perfume made by Coty and endorsed by the celebrity Jennifer Lopez. It contained 18 chemicals linked to chronic health concerns.³

This happens because no law currently regulates the safety of fragrance chemicals or requires the disclosure of fragrance ingredients to consumers or even regulatory agencies.⁴

According to the International Fragrance Association, approximately 3,000 chemicals can be used to make fragrance, and some of these hidden ingredients are linked to cancer, allergies, and reproductive and respiratory problems.⁵

We have the right to know what’s in our products, especially if they could be toxic. Urge your representative to take action.

For years, Maryland PIRG has worked to secure full ingredient disclosure. And we’ve seen results: After we joined our coalition partners this year to deliver more than 150,000 petition signatures to L’Oréal — a major manufacturer of beauty and personal care products — L’Oréal pledged to disclose the ingredients in their products.

It’s a promising start, but with an issue this urgent, we can’t wait for companies to agree to do the right thing one by one. Not when we have the chance to pass a law that changes the whole industry.

We’re calling on the U.S. Congress to pass the Safe Cosmetics and Personal Care Products Act of 2018.

Add your name.

Thank you,

Emily Scarr
State Director

1. “Right to Know: Exposing toxic fragrance chemicals in beauty, personal care and cleaning products,” Breast Cancer Prevention Partners, Sept. 2018.
2. “Right to Know: Exposing toxic fragrance chemicals in beauty, personal care and cleaning products,” Breast Cancer Prevention Partners, Sept. 2018.
3. “Right to Know: Exposing toxic fragrance chemicals in beauty, personal care and cleaning products,” Breast Cancer Prevention Partners, Sept. 2018.
4. “Right to Know: Exposing toxic fragrance chemicals in beauty, personal care and cleaning products,” Breast Cancer Prevention Partners, Sept. 2018.
5. “Ingredients and transparency,” International Fragrance Association, 2016.