The safety of baby products is taken up by US senator.

The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics scored a win this week with US senator Kristen Gillibrand taking on the cosmetics industry regarding the safety of the baby products that they produce.  The CSC report that has been discussed before on this blog stated that up to 82% of baby products tested contained traces of toxic and cancer causing chemicals.  The cosmetic industry responded stating that the levels of these toxins were very low, lower in fact than your would find occuring naturally in many healthy fruit and vegetables. This, it appears was not good enough!

At Realize Beauty we will be watching this debate closely.  We are passionate about the safety of consumers, the protection of the environment and the development of the cosmetic industry and believe that these causes need not be at odds with each other.  The only thing that is going to stop this mud slinging is science not marketing.  Let me expand on this a little.

A Scientist takes on a new project/ investigation / theory whatever you want to call it with an open mind as to what might eventuate. They use their background knowledge to devise a set of tests (experiments) that will draw out conclusions based on a hypothesis (or theory) made about the likely outcomes.  The experimental results may or may not agree with their hypothesis and this is fine.  The whole experimental process should be designed in a way that allows for outcomes that are both expected and un-expected.  Both of these outcomes are then published and discussed as a way of gaining more information and knowledge about the process.  This is how science progresses.

A Marketing person already knows what they have. They have a product, an idea or a theory that they want to share with as many people in their target group as possible. They design an experiment/ communications strategy or investigation to back up what they all ready know.  While  the smart marketer will adapt their message depending on the results that their experiment deliveres, few will retract the initial statement or standpoint for fear of loosing credibility.

There are scientists and marketers on both sides of this debate although like with any tug of war the weight and powers behind each side are not necessarily equal. We believe that the public should keep these sometimes conflicting agendas in mind when making decisions on what to put on their baby. It may take a long time to resolve this issue but here at Realize Beauty we are hoping that good science  wins out – whatever it finds.

See the article in Cosmetic Design Europe

We invite your thoughts and comments on this issue.