Nothing But Tears: Spare us the excuses about formaldehyde in baby shampoo
Industry apologists are out in force on the Mommy blogs, telling us not to worry our pretty little heads about carcinogens in baby shampoo. The chemicals are used for good reason, explains Johnson & Johnson, makers of the iconic Johnson’s Baby Shampoo that, according to the label, is “pure,” “gentle” and “the number one choice of hospitals.” It also happens to contain the hazardous substances formaldehyde and dioxane, which are not listed on labels. The two chemicals are known to cause cancer in animals, and formaldehyde can also cause skin rashes in kids who are sensitive to the chemical.
What you won’t hear from J&J: Many other companies are already making gentle, pure and wonderful baby products that do not contain known carcinogens and allergens. And that’s what Johnson’s should be doing too.
Also see ABC News and the Washington Post online chat with me.
For more information about how the big beauty companies are hiring lobbyists and spinsters to keep themselves unregulated and convince us to keep using toxic products, see my book, “Not Just a Pretty Face: The Ugly Side of the Beauty Industry.”
– Stacy Malkan, 4/6/09
May 12th, 2009 at 3:12 pm
It’s pretty sad that a company will not address the toxic effects of an ingredient in their product. The best defense against this is to not use the product or any other products made by this company. There are plenty of safe alternatives. The ones with the least ingredients are always the best bets.
July 16th, 2009 at 10:29 am
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December 22nd, 2009 at 6:31 am
Nice post!
Regards, U.
December 29th, 2009 at 2:54 pm
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March 23rd, 2010 at 2:05 am
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April 30th, 2010 at 10:25 pm
BLA BLA – JUST trying to bag other products to sell you own… How do you sleep, eat and socialise – worrying about everything – do you live in a bubble?
May 12th, 2010 at 6:08 pm
A clarification for Cranky: I don’t sell my own products – just trying to get a little common sense thing going, and urge American companies to make safer products.
August 10th, 2010 at 4:01 pm
Hey! Good post, I’m going to forward tihis page to my brother as I’m loathe to say it but they’ve been trying to tell me the same thing for ages!
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