Publication Date
12-31-2025
Abstract
The average American uses a number of personal care products daily, but the safety of many ingredients commonly used in these products is debatable. While the FDA regulates most personal care products as “cosmetics,” it only bans eleven chemicals from use in covered products. The FDA has yet to prohibit chemicals of concern like parabens, phthalates, formaldehyde, and PFAS (“forever chemicals”).
In response to FDA inaction amidst growing safety concerns, states began passing laws to prohibit certain chemicals from use in personal care products. California was the first state to act. In 2020, it passed the Toxic-Free Cosmetics Act, banning twenty-four chemicals. The state legislated again in 2023, banning twenty-six more. Washington enacted a similar law in 2023, and numerous other states have followed down the same path.
While state legislators deserve praise for working to enhance personal care product safety and fill gaps left by the FDA, they must legislate with care to meaningfully improve personal care product safety. This Note provides a synthesis of current state laws as well as an analysis of their various features. It proposes features that would comprise model legislation and concludes by applying the framework to Georgia’s ultimately unsuccessful attempt to legislate with the 2023 Safe Cosmetics Act.
Recommended Citation
Stanley, Savannah
(2025)
"Toxic Chemicals Lurking in Our Personal Care Products: States’ Proactive Approach to a Pressing Problem,"
Georgia Law Review: Vol. 60:
No.
1, Article 9.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.law.uga.edu/glr/vol60/iss1/9