Posted by Green Diva Mom on Dec.13, 2008

Information provided by Environmental Working Group (EWG)

Every day children are exposed to an average of 27 personal care product ingredients that have not been found safe for kids, according to a national survey conducted in summer 2007 by Environmental Working Group. Overall, 77% of the ingredients in 1,700 children’s products reviewed have not been assessed for safety.

In July and August of 2007, EWG surveyed more than 3,300 parents to find out what shampoos, lotions, bath soaps and other personal care products their children use. Based on the specific products named by these parents, we found that children are exposed to an average of 61 different chemical ingredients every day, and that on average 27 of these ingredients have not been found safe for children by the government or the cosmetic industry’s expert safety panel.

Due to gaping loopholes in federal law, cosmetics companies can put almost any ingredient they choose into their products, with no requirement to safety test. Companies can also claim that their products are gentle and natural even when they contain artificial chemical ingredients or harsh skin irritants.

This new children’s product safety guide helps parents navigate around bogus claims and find safer products with fewer ingredients linked to allergies, cancer, and other concerns for children.

Gaps in health protections leave children exposed to potentially harmful ingredients when their developing tissues and organs are sensitive to chemical damage. Our analysis of more than 1,700 children’s products shows:

Exposures to harmful chemicals during childhood pose concern because children are more vulnerable to chemicals than are adults. In many ways, children are like sponges for chemicals. Children’s skin is 30% thinner than an adults’, on average, and can absorb greater amounts of chemicals from the skin surface. They breathe in more air (and air contaminants) relative to their weight than adults, and the blood-brain barrier that helps block chemicals from penetrating brain tissue is not fully formed until a baby reaches 6 months of age. Parents must be particularly careful to choose safe products for their children.

EWG’s analysis includes a Parent’s Buying Guide that gives recommendations on choosing safer products instead of the many that contain ingredients of concern for children.

Personal care product safety in the U.S. falls under the purview of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). But unlike its clear authority to regulate drugs and food additives, the FDA has no power to require that cosmetics be tested for safety before they are sold. Instead, an industry-funded panel (the Cosmetic Ingredient Review, or CIR), not a government health agency, reviews the safety of cosmetic ingredients in the U.S. Based on our survey results, they have yet to review the safety of 77% of ingredients in children’s products on the market today.

Products are required under federal law to bear a prominent warning label when manufacturers have not substantiated their safety, but FDA provides industry with no guidance on what if any tests they must conduct to prove product safety, and all final safety decisions lie with individual manufacturers. As a result, our survey shows that products can contain ingredients that may pose risks to children, and can bear claims that parents can’t always trust.

Children are exposed to an average of 61 personal care product ingredients daily, including 27 ingredients that have not been found safe for kids

Source: EWG analysis of 3,300 online survey responses on personal care product use for children from birth through age 9, coupled with EWG database of ingredients in more than 23,000 personal care products. Ingredients were compared against compendium of chemicals assessed for safety by the industry safety panel, the Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR 2007) and by FDA (e.g., color additives and “active” ingredients) to find those that have not been assessed for safety in children’s products.

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Posted under Beauty, Beauty Products, Family, GDM Kids, Tweens, Teens.