Beautycounter led two days of virtual lobbying on cosmetic reform with key U.S. senators and representatives. The brand was joined by members of its science advisory council and the Counteract Coalition, a Beautycounter-led collective of businesses working together to 'help pass more health-protective laws in the beauty industry.'
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The company believes that with the growth of clean beauty comes an increasing need for stronger regulation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to help combat misinformation and better protect consumers. Beautycounter states it has spent nearly 10 years advocating for legislation that would allow the FDA to: screen ingredients for safety; require more transparency from brands; clearly define widely used but under-regulated terms such as natural; and recall products that harm consumers.
The company reports it has helped to pass 10 pieces of legislation and is working on 12 more, including the Personal Care Products Safety Act. In 2019, Gregg Renfrew, Beautycounter’s founder and CEO testified in a House hearing to introduce the Cosmetic Safety Enhancement Act, leading to the first vote in Congress on a stand-alone cosmetics bill in more than 80 years.
"Beautycounter believes in the power of advocacy to change our country's outdated laws in order to better protect consumers," said Renfrew. “Consumers deserve federally regulated, health-protective safety standards and I'm proud to work with our coalition of clean beauty brands as well as leaders in public health policy and medicine to push for change."
"Products are increasingly chemically complex and outdated testing strategies are often insufficient to accurately capture long-term risks from certain chemicals," said Joseph Laakso, Ph.D., director of science policy at the Endocrine Society and member of Beautycounter's science advisory council. He added that transparency is essential for consumers to manage their exposures, and valuable for scientists and physicians who want to have a more accurate understanding of the public's chemical exposures and potential health effects.
"I'm encouraged by the actions of companies such as Beautycounter that are aiming to be at the vanguard of product safety, while also improving testing methodologies and maximizing transparency," Laakso said.
