Governor Signs Safe Cosmetics Bill

New Law Heightens Scrutiny of Industry Safety

The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics celebrates the victory of the California Safe Cosmetics bill—the nation's first state law on chemicals in cosmetics. Companies will now have to notify the state when they use chemicals linked to cancer and birth defects.

SACRAMENTO, Calif.—In a landmark advance in the safety of cosmetics products, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed SB 484, the California Safe Cosmetics Act of 2005. The decision caps a two year campaign by Breast Cancer Action, the Breast Cancer Fund, and the National Environmental Trust to bring additional scrutiny to an industry accustomed to only minimal oversight.

“The new law has national significance,” said Luis Cabrales, California Organizer for the National Environmental Trust. “For decades the FDA has allowed the cosmetics industry to police itself. Now, California is stepping into the breach in order to address the latest science on chemicals and human health.”

The chemical and cosmetic industries both vigorously opposed the bill, mounting a major campaign to convince salon owners and workers that they would be shut down if the new law passed. The cosmetics industry spent heavily to defeat SB 484. Proctor and Gamble paid Sacramento lobbyists more than $90,000 in the first six months of 2005, and the Cosmetics, Toiletries and Fragrance Association (CTFA) spent more than $600,000 in the 2003-04 legislative session and the first quarter of 2005 to oppose SB 484 and other environmental health legislation in California.

“We thank the Governor for signing this landmark bill, despite the unprecedented lobbying efforts of the cosmetics industry,” said Jeanne Rizzo, R.N., executive director of the Breast Cancer Fund. “This is an important disclosure bill and an important victory for women’s health. California has set the stage for states asserting regulatory authority around toxic chemicals in cosmetics, which the federal government has thus far refused to lead on.”