OPI Products Removes Hazardous Ingredient from Nail Polish
The Ms. Magazine Feminist Newswire highlights OPI's announcement that their products no longer contain toluene.
OPI Products Removes Hazardous Ingredient from Nail Polish
Read the article at the Ms. wire online
At
the urging of activists and consumers with the Campaign for Safe
Cosmetics, OPI Products has reformulated its nail polish to remove the
hazardous solvent toluene. The Campaign, founded by a coalition of
advocacy groups in 2004, used mock beauty pageant protests, letters,
meetings, and a national ad campaign to lobby OPI.
Toluene, a solvent added to nail polish to make application smoother
(and added to gasoline to increase octane ratings), is characterized as
a "probable human carcinogen" by the American Cancer Society (ACS) and
is on California’s Proposition 65 list of chemicals known to cause
reproductive and developmental deformities.
Women's Voices for the Earth, a founding member of the Campaign for
Safe Cosmetics, is a feminist environmental justice organization that
has created a "Compact for Safe Cosmetics."
The compact has companies pledge to create products without using
chemicals known or suspected to be harmful. They also released a report
called "Glossed Over: Health Hazards Associated with Toxic Exposure in Nail Salons"
that examines the health effects of toxic chemicals used daily by women
nail technicians. The report notes that 95 percent of nail technicians
are women and 38 percent of them are Vietnamese. The report outlines
the problems these women face and offers recommendations to decrease
health risks.
OPI, which does not test its product on animals, said that the amount
of the chemicals in their products is well below EU and FDA standards,
but acknowledged that removing them is a step in the right direction.
LEARN MORE Read "Is Your Lipstick Safe?" in the Summer 2006 issue of Ms. magazine for more information on cosmetics and toxins
JOIN Join the Ms. community and receive the premier feminist publication delivered to your door
Media Resources: OPI.com; Women and Environment 3/15/07; SafeCosmetics.org; EPA report 2000
Read the article at the Ms. wire online
Read the Report:
Glossed Over (pdf)
Learn more about the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics
Read more media stories about WVE
