Policy & Regulation
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.
Linda Katz presided over a two-decade-long effort to boost FDA’s authority over cosmetic product safety during her time as director of the Office of Cosmetics and Colors. She will retire in January.
The Washington State Department of Ecology will take interim policy action by 1 January, 2025 that will provide manufacturers alternative paths to compliance with the 1ppm lead limit under the state’s Toxic Free Cosmetics Act, the agency announces. It also anticipates opening a rulemaking related to lead impurities in cosmetics in 2025.
The incoming Trump Administration’s “Department Of Government Efficiency” has big plans for sweeping cuts to the federal bureaucracy and regulation. The US FDA likely will feel some effects, but could avoid the most damaging mandates.
Martin Makary prides himself on following the data, but some health policy experts said his positions sometimes stray from or distort the evidence, which could create trust issues.
The Washington Department of Ecology hasn’t backed down on its targeting of formaldehyde-releasing preservatives under the state’s Toxic-Free Cosmetics Act, as industry still awaits a draft final rule. In a recent webinar, attorney Angela Deisch of Amin Wasserman Gurnani, LLP said the department has also not provided clarity on penalties under the law, which goes into effect 1 January.
Personal care packaging producers should be prepared for Washington state’s 1 January deadline for ensuring personal care product containers are made up of at least 15% post-consumer recycled material, notes Angela Diesch, attorney at Amin Wasserman Gurnani, LLP, during a webinar hosted by Global Victoria, the trade facilitation agency for the state of Victoria in Australia.
The US FDA has generally not sent out enforcement letters to stakeholders of the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act, but that doesn’t mean it’s not happening, says Amin Wasserman Gurnani, LLP attorney Angela Diesch, during a 19 November webinar hosted by Global Victoria, the trade facilitation agency for the state of Victoria in Australia.
The US FTC has published its ‘Rule Concerning Recurring Subscriptions and Other Negative Option Programs’ in the Federal Register 15 November. However, legal challenges and the Trump Administration make its fate uncertain.