Regulation

Testing conducted by the US Food and Drug Administration has found several cosmetic products on the market that contain high levels of methylene chloride, a banned ingredient.

Engaging with EU member state legislators, stressing the impact of national EPR systems on the accessibility, availability, and affordability of medicines, reformulating products to reduce their financial contribution, and lobbying for expanding the scope of EPR schemes to include other polluting industries are all ways that the European consumer health industry can try and influence the way that the revised Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive is transposed into national legislation, law firm Mason Hayes & Curran explains.

France's food safety regulator ANSES is proposing a reproductive toxicity category 1B classification for CBD under the EU's CLP regulation, which would mean an effective ban on CBD in cosmetics and foods. However, French hemp industry association UIVEC hopes that new evidence coming out of a European Commission review will put the issue to bed before it gets that far.

Two nail care ingredients included in the European Commission’s Omnibus VII, which includes about two dozen ingredients overall, are banned in Europe in September.

Cosmetics Europe is working to obtain derogations for three fragrance and/or cosmetic substances that may be categorized as carcinogenic, mutagenic or reprotoxic, which could result in a ban of their use under the Cosmetic Products Regulation.

Fragrance Creators Association will push the Trump Administration to exclude from tariffs fragrance materials that cannot be produced or cultivated domestically, while both FCA and the Personal Care Products Council will continue to promote the economic benefits of their respective industries.

Single-use packaging producers subject to Oregon state’s Extended Producer Responsibility law that didn’t meet the 31 March deadline to report their packaging materials are given a grace period to report until 30 April, says Circular Action Alliance, the organization carrying out the EPR program.

Reclassifying ethanol as a carcinogenic, mutagenic, or reprotoxic substance - something the European Chemicals Agency seems likely to do in the near future - would be “tantamount to a de facto ban” with “fatal consequences” for medical care in Germany, says Pharma Deutschland in a joint paper with 13 other German healthcare industry associations.

Personal care companies selling in California that suspect they are subject to its listing of a common stabilizer and packaging material should collect Certificates of Analysis for all raw materials, pursue third-party formula testing and retain counsel.

Single-use packaging producers subject to California’s SB 54 recycling law, which implements a statewide EPR plan, should continue to prepare for its implementation, even as they enter a ‘prolonged period of uncertainty,’ says consultant Michael Washburn.

Counterfeit beauty products cost the US industry an estimated $3bn in 2023, says a trade expert during the Personal Care Products Council’s Beauty Collective Summit.

Cosmetics companies brace for the impact of Trump administration tariffs as industry experts seeing an opportunity for an exemption urge stakeholders to reach out to lawmakers. The issue was discussed during PCPC’s recent Beauty Collective Summit.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.