Microplastic-infused leave-on cosmetics targeted by the EU’s proposed restriction are numerous and complexly formulated, and there currently are no viable replacement ingredients, according to Cosmetics Europe. Eliminating plastic microbeads from rinse-off products was a far simpler undertaking, but it still took more than four years and resulted in the discontinuation of roughly half of affected formulations. 

As the European microplastic restriction proposal moves toward finalization, with heavy stakes for the cosmetics industry, EU member states and decision makers in Brussels must contend with unresolved questions of proportionality. At a time of global environmental angst and unprecedented economic challenges, what does society value most?

The Washington Department of Ecology has submitted to the state legislature its final list of “priority products” under the Safer Products regulation, including phthalate-containing personal-care products. A recent webinar broke down next steps in Phase 3 of the program – alternatives assessment.

After reporting 6% organic growth for fiscal 2020, ended on 30 June, P&G’s increasingly health, hygiene and cleaning-focused business is still going strong, CFO Jon Moeller said at the Barclays Global Consumer Staples Conference. While uncertainties abound, P&G remains confident in its strategy, portfolio and long-term prospects.

Before COVID-19, Lauder projected that a third of prestige beauty sales industry-wide would be generated online by 2033. The pandemic has sped up that process, starting in China, and Lauder is making strategic moves accordingly.

A class action complaint in California’s Southern District, challenging the hand sanitizer manufacturer’s 99.99% germ-kill claim, ignores the asterisk on products’ primary display panels that links to a disclosure on rear labels, “*Effective at eliminating 99.99% of many common harmful germs & bacteria," according to Vi-Jon's 27 August motion to dismiss.