Chinese-made Halloween makeup could be unsafe, say advocates
Halloween makeup can have unexpected consequences, warns New York Sen. Chuck Schumer.
In a press conference on Sunday, Senator Schumer informed families about the potential dangers of using face paint manufactured in China, . He said these products often contain potentially unsafe ingredients such as chromium, nickel, lead, and cobalt.
鈥淧arents are totally clueless as to what they鈥檙e putting on their child鈥檚 face. If they see it on the shelf they think it鈥檚 safe, but it鈥檚 not,鈥� he said.聽鈥淲hen you buy makeup for your kids, make sure it doesn鈥檛 say made in China.鈥�
He held up聽makeup palettes by Rubie鈥檚 Costume Company, Wet N鈥� Wild Fantasy Makers, and Fun World, as examples.聽
Schumer is advocating for stricter regulation, and says he sent a letter to the Food and Drug Administration urging ingredient transparency for these products, which do not list the toxic ingredients on their packaging. Many companies may be unaware of the contaminants in their products.
by the advocacy group the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, all of the face paints they tested contained lead, and most contained the other toxic ingredients mentioned by Schumer. Canada and Europe have banned the use of lead in cosmetics, but the US has no such regulation.
The report also found that products were often labeled with claims like 鈥渉ypoallergenic,鈥� 鈥渟kin friendly,鈥� and 鈥渘on-toxic.鈥�
In fact, notes the organization, the FDA has little power to ensure product safety when it comes to cosmetics. The agency rarely tests cosmetic products, and it lacks the authority to make companies assess their own products for harmful contaminants.
The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics says the inclusion of these toxic ingredients are likely unintentional, the result of complacency by the companies and manufacturers. The group blames the supply chain鈥檚 poor-quality ingredients and 鈥渁 lack of manufacturer testing and regulatory oversight.鈥�
鈥淭he FDA should require that raw materials be tested for purity, that ingredients in cosmetics be shown to be safe for children and other vulnerable populations, and that all chemical constituents in personal care products, including fragrance ingredients and contaminants, be listed on ingredient labels,鈥� the report suggested.
Contaminated Chinese-manufactured products are nothing new. In 2007, 海角大神鈥檚 Peter Ford wrote about a spate of regulatory oversights by China on exports to the US, including pet food contaminated with toxic waste, defective truck tires, lead paint in toys, and even poisonous toothpaste. While Beijing began a concerted effort to crack down on these violators, Ford suggested the real culprit is a lack of free elections, press, and independent courts:
While China does have such regulatory institutions and allows the media to tackle product quality, can it simply continue to rely on the iron hand of unelected leaders to correct millions of businesses? And can it continue to prevent journalists from asking if China must adopt truly representative government?
Not when lives are at stake, both within China and wherever its exports go.
While Schumer will push for increased oversight in the US, the safety of products manufactured in China can only be regulated by China itself, whose exports to the US .
