Experts in the field of product safety are due to attend a Congressional briefing tomorrow in the Senate Dirksen Building, Washington DC, to plead for greater regulation of beauty products and transparency in the supply chain.

“Nearly every major consumer category has undergone radical change in recent years – from food to entertainment to transportation. But not the beauty industry, where companies are legally allowed to use ingredients linked to breast cancer, infertility, early puberty and other health issues,” explained Gregg Renfrew, Founder and CEO of Beautycounter, who is due to attend the hearing. “Consumers are demanding more transparency and regulation, and I hope to help lead this movement that gets toxic ingredients out of the products that people use on their skin everyday,” she added.

Under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act of 1938, beauty products do not require FDA approval before they are launched to market, leaving the industry to self-regulate product safety. While the European Union has banned almost 1,400 ingredients from use in personal care products, in the US this figure is closer to 11.