Policy & Regulation
The Trump Administration Department of Government Efficiency’s staff cuts within FDA will “most certainly” impact the Office of Cosmetics and Colors and delay the implementation of the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act, says EAS Consulting Group’s John Bailey.
SC Johnson & Son, Inc.’s Babyganics brand issues voluntary recall of Totally Tropical scented mineral sunscreen rollerball and continuous spray formulas after testing was found ‘unacceptable,” though the brand says there is no risk to health or safety.
Regulatory limbo has plagued a dozen sunscreen active ingredients that the US FDA characterizes as lacking data to maintain GRASE status, but stakeholders are pushing for changes to the OTC monograph user fee program that could require acceptance of non-animal safety tests.
The Washington Department of Ecology releases its formal draft rule under the Toxic Free Cosmetics Act listing 28 intentionally added formaldehyde releasers, with plans to adopt the rule this summer.
The Personal Care Products Council and the Consumer Healthcare Products Association submit comments to California’s Department of Toxic Substances Control on its consideration to add propyl- and butylparaben used in leave-on skin products to its list of Priority Products under the state’s Safer Consumer Products regulation.
With Trump administration tariffs effective possibly within days, US cosmetic and personal care companies are concerned about the impact of both cost and supply for ‘turnkey’ products, packaging components and ingredients from Asia, in particular China.
Givaudan CEO Giles Andrier told analysts during the Swiss firm’s 2024 sales presentation that strong sales in Q4 were not impacted by a pre-buying of products and ingredients late in the year, as experienced by other companies, in anticipation of potential new tariffs imposed by the Trump administration.
Attorneys from ArentFox Schiff discuss the FDA's proposed rule dictating methods that must be used to test for asbestos in cosmetic products containing talc.
Single-use packaging producers obligated under Oregon’s Extended Producer Responsibility law who still haven’t registered with program facilitators will struggle at this point to meet the fast-approaching material-reporting deadline, but should nonetheless jump into the process, says EPR consultant Michael Washburn.
Beauty industry insiders from trade associations and attorneys specializing in marketing law and/or cosmetics manufacturing look forward to a more business-friendly FTC in the US in 2025, while they expect industry to face an increasing number of challenges at the state level. Meanwhile, the EU beauty market is hopeful it will see reduced regulations this year.
Former FDA commissioners Mark McClellan and Scott Gottlieb, former acting commissioner Janet Woodcock and current commissioner Robert Califf offered advice on successfully implementing reforms and preventing a mass exodus of FDA employees as inklings emerge that the Trump team is already engaged on this front.
Linda Katz, director of the Office of Cosmetics and Colors at the US Food and Drug Administration, is credited with leading efforts toward modernization of cosmetics regulations as she retires after 22 years at the helm.
FDA publishes the first proposed rule under the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act – a testing method for detecting asbestos in talc-containing cosmetics.
The Washington State Department of Ecology publishes ‘Interim Policy on Lead in Cosmetics’ which provides safe harbor options for cosmetic products struggling with the 1ppm limit under the state’s Toxic Free Cosmetics Act, while the department gathers information under a newly opened rulemaking to ‘identify a feasible approach to regulating lead in cosmetic products.’
Many small US and independent beauty brands are still unfamiliar with the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act, as are owners of beauty brands based outside the US; the lack of education about the regulation is making many stakeholders at risk for non-compliance.
Namandje Bumpus' departure means there is no obvious, internal candidate to serve as acting commissioner when President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January and the Senate works to confirm a new leader.
The Biden Administration’s final unified agenda sets target dates for three notices of proposed rulemakings under MoCRA, setting a proposal for cosmetic GMPs for October 2025.
FDA publishes an updated registration guidance in the Federal Register 12 December to answer outstanding questions by stakeholders, including whether a single FEI number can be used for multiple related facilities.
Guest authors Marcha Isabelle Chaudry, an attorney and founder of the Equity and Wellness Collaborative, and Rachel Raphael, partner at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, LLP, write about the risks companies face in making claims in the realm of ‘green’ beauty, where an absence of a universal standard or definition for ‘green’ is creating confusion and in some cases, legal headaches.
California’s Department of Toxic Substances Control issues a proposed rulemaking for methyl methacrylate alternatives in nail products, years after identifying the ingredient for prioritization.