By law, nail products sold in the United States must be free of poisonous ordeleterious substances that might harm users under conditions of normaluse. However, the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) admitsthat it “does not review or approve nail products and other cosmetics beforethey go on the market.” Instead the FDA relies on its “Cosmetics VoluntaryRegistration Program”, which allows cosmetics manufacturers to voluntarilyreport to the FDA the adverse reactions that customers complain about, sothat the FDA may then take legal action against the product.21 The FDA hasadmitted that the Food Drug and Cosmetics act contains no provisions thatrequire evidence of the safety of ingredients in cosmetics product prior totheir marketing. The FDA also recognizes the fact that it lacks the ability torequire a recall of harmful products, and that recalls are voluntary companyactions.22 In the absence of FDA control, cosmetics manufacturers haveendeavored to police itself through an industry panel call the CosmeticsIngredient Review Board (CIR). In its history thus far, this industry-fundedpanel has only managed to review 11% of all 10,500 ingredients found incosmetics.
By Alexandra Gorman and Philip O’Connor: Women’s Voices for the Earth, February 2007
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