Suspect Nano-Ingredients Found in Big Name Cosmetics

Summary posted by Meridian on 11/24/2009
Source: Friends of the Earth Australia
Author: n/a

Friends of the Earth Australia (FOE), a consumer and environmental organization, has found that cosmetics sold by big name brands, including Revlon, Clarins, Clinique, Max Factor, the Body Shop, L'Oréal, By Terry and Lancôme Paris, all contain nanoparticles, but are not labeled as such. Georgia Miller, spokesperson for FOE, said "Friends of the Earth believes that Australian women shouldn't be used as guinea pigs by the big cosmetics companies and the nanotechnology industry....Millions of Australian women wear make-up every day. Yet even in this high exposure nano-product the government does not require companies to test the safety of nano-ingredients – or to label them." FOE commissioned the testing, which looked at ten different products, and found that seven of the 10 contained "penetration enhancers", ingredients that FOE says "...alter skin structure, promoting the uptake of chemicals. This increases the possibility that nanoparticles used in the cosmetics will be absorbed into women's skin." Miller said that FOE is calling "...for a stop to sales of cosmetics that contain nano-ingredients, until the safety science catches up, and new laws are introduced to make companies test the safety of their products and to label all nano-ingredients. We are also calling for public participation in decision making about nanotechnology management." The article can be viewed online at the link below.

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our team contact us site map	Suspect Nano-Ingredients Found in Big Name Cosmetics Summary posted by Meridian on 11/24/2009 Source: Friends of the Earth Australia Author: n/a Friends of the Earth Australia (FOE), a consumer and environmental organization, has found that cosmetics sold by big name brands, including Revlon, Clarins, Clinique, Max Factor, the Body Shop, L'Oréal, By Terry and Lancôme Paris, all contain nanoparticles, but are not labeled as such. Georgia Miller, spokesperson for FOE, said "Friends of the Earth believes that Australian women shouldn't be used as guinea pigs by the big cosmetics companies and the nanotechnology industry....Millions of Australian women wear make-up every day. Yet even in this high exposure nano-product the government does not require companies to test the safety of nano-ingredients – or to label them." FOE commissioned the testing, which looked at ten different products, and found that seven of the 10 contained "penetration enhancers", ingredients that FOE says "...alter skin structure, promoting the uptake of chemicals. This increases the possibility that nanoparticles used in the cosmetics will be absorbed into women's skin." Miller said that FOE is calling "...for a stop to sales of cosmetics that contain nano-ingredients, until the safety science catches up, and new laws are introduced to make companies test the safety of their products and to label all nano-ingredients. We are also calling for public participation in decision making about nanotechnology management." The article can be viewed online at the link below. The original article may still be available at www.foe.org.au/nano-tech/media/news-items/front-page-news-feed-1/suspec... As tagged by Meridian Institute: Implications: Human Health Risks, Governance, Ethics Materials And Manufacturing: Manufacturing, Materials Nanomaterials: Naturally Occurring Regions: East and South Asia and the Pacific Stakeholders: Government, Industry, NGO Minerals And Metals: Minerals Related Forums: Materials and Manufacturing Metals and Minerals Human Health Risks and Worker Safety Governance Ethics print format	NDN Home Subscribe Manage Subscription Search News Archives Understanding Public Debate on Nanotechnologies: Options for Framing Public Policy -- The Innovation Society (2/8/2010) The Governance and Ethics Unit of the Directorate General for Research (DG Research) of the European Commission (EC) has published an overview paper on options for framing public policy on nanotechnologies. [More] UN Patent Filings Dropped for 1st Time Since 1978 -- ABC news (2/8/2010) The United Nations World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), an entity through which a company can, for a fee, file a request for patent protection in any or all of the 142 countries that have subscribed to the U.N.'s Patent Cooperation Treaty, reported that the number of international patent filings dropped last year for the first time since 1978. [More] TECHNOLOGY: Science Panel Probes Renewable Energy's Current Use of China's Rare Metals -- Environment & Energy Daily (2/8/2010) A United States House of Representatives Science and Technology subcommittee this week will hold a hearing on rare earth mineral production and the resource's role in the growing clean energy industry. [More] Nanofood for Thought -- Nature Nanotechnology (2/5/2010) This editorial, in the journal Nature Nanotechnology, is in response to the recent report, "Nanotechnologies and Food", released in January by the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee, United Kingdom, that criticized the food industry for failing to be transparent about its research into the uses of nanotechnologies and nanomaterials. [More] More News... Learn how to include these headlines on your own website by clicking here. Please email us if you require text-only versions of the daily emails.