Hawaii’s Sunscreen Ingredient Ban Is On The Books; To Industry, An Affront To Science
This article was originally published in The Rose Sheet
Executive Summary
As in the case of plastic microbeads some four years ago, the personal-care industry finds itself in the position of having to reformulate potentially on a mass scale due to environmental rather than human safety concerns. And once again the legislation was driven in large part by shoddy science, industry says.
You may also be interested in...
Target’s Up&Up ‘Reef Conscious’ Claims Are False, Says Plaintiff, Citing Leading Snorkeling Website
The big-box retailer again is defending “Reef Conscious Formula” claims on Up&Up sun care, this time in Florida federal court. The company settled a suit in California’s Northern District in April 2023 that similarly alleged that use of avobenzone, homosalate, octisalate, and/or octocrylene rendered Up&Up “Reef Conscious” statements false and misleading.
Hawaii’s Big Island Joins Maui In Non-Mineral Sunscreen Ban
A National Academies of Sciences report is expected in coming weeks on the environmental impacts of sunscreen ingredients and potential human health issues associated with changing use patterns. But Hawaii County legislators decided they couldn’t wait for new information to come to light, voting yes on a measure to ban sales of non-mineral sunscreens, which became law on 8 July.
Hawaii Considers Sweeping Ban On ‘Chemical’ UV Filters, Taking Cues From US FDA
Following Maui County’s example, Hawaii state lawmakers seem intent on limiting OTC sunscreen sales to products formulated with zinc oxide and titanium dioxide, the only active ingredients upheld as GRASE by the US FDA in recent rulemaking overtures.