Filling the gaps in government oversight is what EWG does. So over the lifetime of the organization, they’ve surveyed the political landscape, communicated urgency to the cosmetic-buying public, educated the media and made inroads wherever possible to improve public health outcomes.
Sometimes, when Washington is immovable, a state win might be exactly what’s needed to communicate to leaders that change is possible. EWG opened its California office 20 years ago, to influence California policy. The Golden State is a rich environment for progressive ideas that have a shot at becoming real opportunities for change.
With the California office open for business, EWG scientists got to work, using the toxicologists on staff to identify toxic chemicals of concern, creating a list of those that have already been banned in other countries, and suggesting a ban that was both revolutionary and realistic – and difficult to push back on.
The Toxic Free Cosmetics Act was signed by Governor Gavin Newsom in 2020 in what EWG calls a good beginning. California was always just the first lever to pull to make personal care products safer nationwide. Once that state proved they could ban toxic chemicals in cosmetics, others would follow. After all, no one went bankrupt, and you can still find $3 shampoo.
That same California bill is now law in Maryland, which banned the same ingredients the following year. It will eventually be successful in other states and D.C., too.
Following California’s example, in December 2022, Congress finally modernized the Food and Drug Administration’s authority over cosmetics, ending more than 80 years of zero cosmetic reform on the national level.