Covington & Burling attorney Peter Barton Hutt brings historical perspective to the matter of cosmetics reform legislation in US Congress, which stalled out in 2020 after COVID hit the states. He advises companies to continue working to meet and exceed existing regulatory requirements "so that people can’t say that voluntary self-regulation doesn’t work."

The Personal Care Products Council testified on the economic toll of counterfeit cosmetics, as well as potential safety issues, at a US House Judiciary subcommittee meeting on 27 May. The bipartisan, bicameral SHOP SAFE Act under consideration would help to address the problem, bill sponsors say.

A federal court decision pending Ninth Circuit appeal, regarding acrylamide use in food, could signal a new defense option for companies facing Prop 65 claims, Greenberg Traurig attorney Will Wagner says. At the same time, it could lead to heavier plaintiff scrutiny of non-food categories such as cosmetics.

The FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition has a wish list for cosmetics reform legislation, but with Congress currently focused elsewhere, the agency is using its existing authority and resources to address cosmetics safety priorities while working to drive voluntary industry support.

The Fragrance Creators Association and Personal Care Products Council remain concerned that more stringent VOC limits for personal fragrance products in California, as approved by the Air Resources Board in March, will be disproportionately burdensome for industry and potentially detrimental to the market.

The Department of Toxic Substances Control does not identify specific chemicals of concern in its 2021-2023 Priority Product Draft Work Plan, but says it is focusing on ingredients and endpoints associated with children, women of childbearing age, communities of color and aquatic impacts.