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This week marked a huge victory for consumers. On Wednesday, Johnson & Johnson, global manufacturer of such well known health and personal care products as Johnson's Baby Shampoo, unveiled plans to reformulate many of its adult cosmetic and toiletry products to remove potentially toxic or cancer-causing ingredients. The announcement came nearly a year after the company announced that it would remove toxic chemicals from its baby products.
By the end of 2015, Johnson & Johnson intends to:
- Reduce 1,4 dioxane to a maximum of 10 parts per million in adult products;
- Phase out formaldehyde-releasing ingredients in adult products;
- Limit parabens in adult products to methyl-, ethyl- and propyl-parabens;
- Completely phase out triclosan from all products;
- Phase out diethyl phthalate (DEP) from all products (no other phthalates are currently used); and
- Phase out polycyclic musks, animal-derived ingredients, tagates, rose crystal and diacetyl from fragrances.
Read Johnson & Johnson's statement here.
Many consumers first learned of the presence of potentially harmful chemicals in Johnson & Johnson's products using EWG's Skin Deep®, an online database containing ingredient information for more than 75,000 personal care products.
Before EWG launched Skin Deep®, consumers had few resources available to learn about hazardous ingredients in their personal care products. The searchable database changed this by giving consumers an easy-to-use, one-stop resource to help them make smarter, healthier choices.
Skin Deep® continues to be a vital resource for consumers who want to know about the chemicals in products they routinely place on their bodies. EWG applauds Johnson & Johnson for its leadership in committing to remove problematic ingredients from its products.
Only time will tell if other companies follow its lead.