“Nine of the chemicals we are proposing to ban in AB 2762 are linked to a compromised immune system which can increase susceptibility to, and negatively impact recovery from, COVID-19,” Assemblymember and coauthor Bill Quirk says of the Toxic-Free Cosmetics Act, which passed California’s Assembly unanimously on 11 June.

Cosmetic products in California that contain at least one of more than a dozen listed ingredients or contaminants – or any others selected by the health department going forward – would be adulterated and thus unlawfully marketed under the proposed Toxic-Free Cosmetics Act.

The bill, which would deal a serious blow to industry’s preservatives palette and prohibit any trace of lead in cosmetics, failed to advance out of committee April 9, roughly one week after the Personal Care Products Council and other industry reps descended on Sacramento to lobby against the measure.