The story of the Compact for Safe Cosmetics and the growing market demand for safer products

This report documents how BCPP’s Campaign for Safe Cosmetics grew into a national coalition of nonprofit women’s, environmental, health, faith, consumer and worker safety organizations. The Campaign worked together with cosmetics industry leaders from 2004 to 2011 to raise the bar for personal care product safety. Since that time, consumer demand for products free of harmful chemicals has made this the fastest growing sector of the cosmetics market.

A major initiative of the Campaign was the Compact for Safe Cosmetics. By taking signing the Compact, personal care product companies pledged to work to avoid ingredients banned by health agencies outside the U.S.. They also pledged to work to fully disclose product ingredients, a pioneering practice in the cosmetics industry. Between 2004 and 2011, 322 of the companies that worked with the Campaign met all the goals of the Compact. Additionally, 110 companies made significant progress toward meeting Compact goals.

Working together with the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, these 432 companies broke the mold. They led the personal care products industry by showing that it was possible to make safe and effective products.

In August 2011, the Campaign brought the Compact to a close. After achieving success in moving the market, the closing of the Compact represented a major step forward. Still, there is still a lot of work to be done.

Read our report