By signing California Assembly Bill AB 2762 into Law, Governor Gavin Newsom made California the first in the U.S. to officially ban the use of a series of hazardous ingredients in cosmetics and personal care products. The new law is a victory for the Envirnmental Working Group (EWG) and the Clean Beauty movement, which have long campaigned for an approximation of US law to that of the European Union.
Introduced by Assembly member Al Muratsuchi, the Assembly Bill 2762, dubbed “California’s ’Toxic-free Cosmetics’ Act”, prohibits 12 toxic chemicals in cosmetics in California starting in 2025, all of which are already banned by the European Union, under Annex II of Regulation No. 1223/2009.
“The science is clear on the harmful nature of these chemicals and AB 2762 will provide Californians with the same consumer protections already provided in the European Union. I thank Governor Newsom for his support and the bill cosponsors for their leadership and hard work to get this bill signed into law,” said Assembly member Al Muratsuchi.
The new law bans 12 substances:
1. Dibutyl phthalate (CAS no. 84-74-2)
2. Diethylhexyl phthalate (CAS no. 117-81-7)
3. Formaldehyde (CAS no. 50-00-0)
4. Paraformaldehyde (CAS no. 30525-89-4)
5. Methylene glycol (CAS no. 463-57-0)
6. Quaternium-15 (CAS no. 51229-78-8)
7. Mercury (CAS no. 7439-97-6)
8. Isobutylparaben (CAS no. 4247-02-3)
9. Isopropylparaben (CAS no. 4191-73-5)
10. m-Phenylenediamine and its salts (CAS no. 108-45-2)
11. o-Phenylenediamine and its salts (CAS no. 95-54-5)
12. per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and their salts:
Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS); heptadecafluorooctane-1-sulfonic acid (CAS no. 1763-23-1)
Potassium perfluorooctanesulfonate; potassium heptadecafluorooctane-1-sulfonate (CAS no. 2795-39-3)
Diethanolamine perfluorooctane sulfonate (CAS 70225-14-8)
Ammonium perfluorooctane sulfonate; ammonium heptadecafluorooctanesulfonate (CAS 29081-56-9)
Lithium perfluorooctane sulfonate; lithium heptadecafluorooctanesulfonate (CAS 29457-72-5)
Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA)(CAS no. 335-67-1)
Ammonium pentadecafluorooctanoate (CAS no. 3825-26-1)
Nonadecafluorodecanoic acid (CAS no. 355-76-2)
Ammonium nonadecafluorodecanoate (CAS no. 3108-42-7)
Sodium nonadecafluorodecanoate (CAS no. 3830-45-3)
Perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA)(CAS no. 375-95-1)
Sodium heptadecafluorononanoate (CAS no. 21049-39-8)
Ammonium perfluorononanoate (CAS no. 4149-60-4)
Both the Environmental Working Group (EWG) and the Personal Care Products Council (PCPC) applauded Governor Newsom for signing the Bill into law. Indeed, this very symbolic text was supported by both the NGO and representatives of the cosmetics industry.
“Californians now have greater assurance of the safety of the consumer products they use every day, like lotion and body wash, toothpaste, shampoo and conditioner, and makeup,” said EWG President Ken Cook. “This marks a momentous milestone in the history of cosmetics and personal care products regulation. And for the first time, groups like EWG along with a diverse group of stakeholders and the industry’s trade association, the Personal Care Products Council, support legislation to modernize the rules governing these products.”
In practice, this law should not disrupt fundamentally the habits of cosmetics makers, since most of the substances concerned are hardly found in personal care products sold in the United States.
“We all agree that this bill helps protect public health in California while safeguarding the jobs of the more than the 415,000 Californians who work for the overall personal care industry and the more than $28 billion contributed to the state’s economy,” said PCPC President & CEO Lezlee Westine.
The law only addresses substances added “intentionally” and does provide for unavoidable trace contaminants that occur during manufacturing.