Is your daily routine toxic?

Because of a lack of regulation, many cosmetics and personal care products contain potentially toxic ingredients, like formaldehyde and lead acetate. What toxic chemicals might you encounter as you go about your daily routine? 

Anna Low-Beer

Sodium laureth sulfate, PPG-5-ceteth-20, and fragrance. Those are just a few of the tongue-twisting and toxic ingredients in one Garnier Fructis shampoo — and many other cosmetic products.[1]

For years, we’ve dealt with a system that fails to protect us from toxic chemicals in our products. The average person is exposed to more than 100 chemicals from personal care products – many of them harmful – before leaving the house in the morning.[2]

Why? Because the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) doesn’t have the power to test products for safety before they hit the market – in fact, the FDA can’t even recall a dangerous product.[3] That’s how chemicals linked to cancer, reproductive harm, and other health problems — like formaldehyde and lead acetate — end up in our cosmetic goods. And that’s also why manufacturers have not only the power — but a responsibility — to make their products safer. We’re asking Procter & Gamble, Unilever, and L’Oreal, the manufacturing giants behind popular brands like Old Spice, Olay, Axe, Degree, Dove, and Garnier, to go toxic-free. Join our call now.

What toxic chemicals might you encounter as you go about your daily routine? Find out below, and check out our consumer guide on which products to avoid here.


[1]  Garnier, “Garnier Fructis Damage Eraser Shampoo,” Viewed July 2016.

[2] Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, “Harmful, untested chemicals rife in personal care products,” February 13, 2014.

[3] Food and Drug Administration, “FDA Authority Over Cosmetics,” August 3, 2013. 

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Authors

Anna Low-Beer