Why all baby products should stand for safety, and what Pipette is doing about it.

At Pipette, we care about your little ones and scrutinize every ingredient that goes into our formulas. But not every brand is guided by the same level of self-regulation. That’s why we support stricter laws at the state and national level that govern the products we put on our kids—and ourselves—every day.

Our national regulations (or lack thereof!)

In the United States, personal care regulation is shockingly low. In fact, we haven’t passed any major new federal laws regulating personal care products in over 80 years. Let’s put this in perspective: Pipette bans over 2000 potentially toxic or irritating ingredients from our formulas, because we want our baby care to be the cleanest and gentlest it can possibly be. Meanwhile, the U.S. bans only twelve ingredients from use, and restricts an additional eighteen. That’s a grand total of 30 ingredients flagged by the FDA! By comparison, the E.U. bans around 1400 suspect ingredients, which shows just how much the United States lags behind.  

Hope on the horizon

The good news is that companies like Pipette are consciously choosing what goes into their products to offer safer, cleaner options. But what about companies that are still formulating with outdated safety guidelines? California is leading the way in introducing legislation at the state level that modifies some portions of the law. Recently, California passed the Cruelty-Free Cosmetics Act that restricts animal testing on cosmetic products. Shortly thereafter, Nevada and Illinois passed similar laws, with all three going into effect January 1, 2020. California also passed a law mandating full ingredient disclosure on all professional size products used by salon workers—something that wasn’t required before.

Another California bill that Pipette has widely supported is the Cosmetic Fragrance and Flavor Ingredient Right to Know Act. Due to a loophole in cosmetic labeling laws, the chemical components that make up a flavor or fragrance ingredient are only required to be listed as “flavor” or “fragrance” on a label. This seemingly innocuous “fragrance” label on your baby’s shampoo can hide any number of allergens or potentially irritating chemicals, including hormone-disrupting phthalates. This bill would require that companies disclose any component of the flavor or fragrance that can have a harmful effect on consumers or the environment. It doesn’t call for any product labeling changes. Instead, it would require that any questionable chemicals be submitted to the California Safe Cosmetics Program database, giving consumers greater transparency with the products they apply on themselves and their families every day.

The fight on Capitol Hill

On a federal level, Pipette is heading to Washington D.C. to talk to lawmakers about the importance of implementing stricter cosmetic regulations nationwide, especially when it comes to children. Several bills have been introduced over the past decade or so, but haven’t yet made it into law. But with consumer demand for greater transparency and cleaner formulas, it’s only a matter of time before something sticks. The new laws would ensure that personal care companies are held more deeply accountable for the safety of the products they introduce to the marketplace.

What you can do

With all of this it’s important to remember that you, the voter, have a voice. Remember that California Cosmetic Fragrance and Flavor Ingredient Right to Know Act? Seems like a no-brainer, right? Well, after passing through the Senate it recently failed to make it through the Assembly Appropriations Committee, and never made it to the Assembly for a vote. Demands from you would help simple bills like this push through. Contact your representative and tell them that you and your family deserve better regulation of the products you put on your skin every day.

And what can you do in the meantime? Buy from clean, nontoxic brands like Pipette who always disclose every single ingredient on their product labels and use 100% botanically derived—not synthetic—aromas in their scented formulas. Until the government catches up, vote with your dollars!