New Report Warns of Nanotechnology Risks in Cosmetics

Posted on March 12, 2007 by Michael E. Heintz

By Tim Cahill:

On February 20, 2007, the Investor Environmental Health Network ("IEHN") issued a report entitled "Beneath the Skin: Hidden Liabilities, Market Risk and Drivers of Change in the Cosmetics and Personal Care Products Industry." IEHN represents 20 investment organizations with $22 billion under management that are seeking to ensure that the companies they invest in are taking appropriate steps to reduce risks associated with the toxic chemicals used in their products. The IEHN's report warns that nanotechnologies represent one of the significant health risks in the cosmetics industry and that investors in this industry must be aware that sweeping changes are likely to occur in this market. The report describes the Food and Drug Administration's ("FDA") current oversight of cosmetics as a "a porous and ill-defined regulatory framework" and cites to the fact that "cosmetics are generally exempt from pre-market review" as a major limitation in the FDA's ability to regulate cosmetics. As a result, the report recommends that cosmetics manufacturers take independent steps to monitor the safety of their products in order to avoid potential liability and gain a competitive advantage by increasing their brand trust.

The IEHN's report is certainly not the first to blast the FDA's ability to regulate the use of nanotechnologies in cosmetics. In an October 2006 report by former FDA Deputy Commissioner for Policy, Michael R. Taylor, entitled "Regulating the Products of Nanotechnology: Does FDA Have the Tools It Needs?," the FDA's lack of oversight of cosmetics was identified as an area that must be addressed in order for the FDA to adequately monitor the safety of cosmetics containing nanotechnologies, particularly since cosmetic products with nanomaterials are reaching the marketplace faster than many other products regulated by the FDA. The IEHN's report recommends greater self-regulation by cosmetics manufacturers, but the FDA could impose stricter regulations in this area in the near future. The FDA is in the process of evaluating its ability to effectively regulate the use of nanomaterials in FDA-regulated products, and it has been reported that the agency will issue its findings in July 2007. How the FDA addresses cosmetics with nanomaterials will be one area to watch closely.
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Consumer Survey: U.S. Consumers Willing To Use Nanotechnology, But Have Reservations

Posted on December 6, 2006 by Patrick T. Lewis

Rice University's Center for Biological and Environmental Nanotechnology, together with researchers from University College London and the London Business School, released the results of a major consumer research study that sought to measure public perceptions of the risks & benefits of nanotechnology.  As reported in PhysOrg,

The largest and most comprehensive survey of public perceptions of nanotechnology products finds that U.S. consumers are willing to use specific nano-containing products – even if there are health and safety risks – when the potential benefits are high. The study also finds that U.S. consumers rate nanotechnology as less risky than everyday technologies like herbicides, chemical disinfectants, handguns and food preservatives.

The study also found that American consumers did take nanotechnology's possible health risks into consideration when evaluating whether they would purchase products containing nanotechnology:

One survey polled consumers about how likely they would be to use four specific, nano-containing products: a drug, skin lotion, automobile tires and refrigerator gas coolant. This is the first large-scale study to experimentally gauge the public's reaction to specific, nano-containing products, and [Professor Steven] Currall said the use of scenarios about plausible, specific products yielded results that challenge the assumption that the public focuses narrowly on risk.

"It was clear that people were thinking about more than risk," he said. "The average consumer is pretty shrewd when it comes to balancing risks against benefits, and we found that the greater the potential benefits, the more risks people are willing to tolerate."

Their findings were published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology.  You can access the full article here (subscription required). 

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