The International Chemical Secretariat (ChemSec), in collaboration with leading environment, women, health, labor and consumer public interest organizations in the EU and beyond has released its REACH "Substitute It Now" (SIN) list under the working name of the "NGO Priority List of Substances of Very High Concern."
This list was created to ensure that within REACH, the authorization step is an effective tool to fast-track the most urgent high concern chemicals for substitution, and to facilitate toxic use reduction by businesses. This list was announced at the Substitution Conference held today in Brussels.
Among those chemicals on the list are some materials that are used or can be used in the production of cosmetics, including:
Lead di(acetate);
Dibutyl phthalate;
Triclosan;
Formaldehyde (anhydrous gas);
Ethylene oxide; and
Octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane (INCI: Cylcotetrasiloxane)
One industry expert cautioned that the release of this list by NGOs could cause alarm across the board, internationally, for any products containing these materials. Starting in Europe, products could be pulled from shelves and it may only be a matter of time before the state of California and others follow suit, including some of the larger mass-market retailers.
NGOs collaborating to compile this list include: European Environmental Bureau (EEB) WWF European Policy Office Friends of the Earth Europe (FoEE) Greenpeace European Unit Instituto Sindical de Trabajo Ambiente y Salud (ISTAS) The European Consumers’ Organization (BEUC) Women in Europe for a Common Future (WECF) The Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) The Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL)
For more info, see
www.chemsec.org/list.
