The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics is working with U.S. representatives to support the Safe Cosmetics Act of 2011.

CNN: Consumer advocates lead push for 'green' cosmetics

After working with the industry for years to encourage the manufacture of non-toxic personal care products, the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics is now targeting retailers, encouraging them to make more space on shelves for the growing inventory of safe cosmetics.

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"There's lead acetate in hair dyes, lead in lipsticks, formaldehyde and 1, 4-dioxane in baby shampoos and other shampoos, " said Lisa Archer, co-founder and former director of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics and current director for the environmental group Friends of the Earth.

CNN: Consumer advocates lead push for 'green' cosmetics

One of those companies was Avon, who, shortly thereafter, contacted me with a request to refute some of the charges in the paper, written by Amy Lubitow and Mia Davis, a Portland State University professor and Organizing Director of the Campaign For Safe Cosmetics, respectively.

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In a 2010 laboratory study commissioned by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics and analyzed by the Environmental Working Group, 17 popular fragrances were found to contain an average of 14 not-listed chemicals, including things like diethyl phthalate (DEP), which the Center for Disease Control has found in 97 percent of Americans and which has been linked to various developmental issues.

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Hedrick says it could also be a safe alternative to the ubiquitous use of various antimicrobial chemicals in products like toothpaste and cosmetics.

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