Amyris-owned sustainable beauty brand Biossance has published a ‘Blacklist’ of some 2,000 common cosmetics ingredients that it believes are potentially harmful to either the consumer or the planet, pledging to avoid their use in its own line.

The company claimed that the overly permissive US regulatory environment allows manufacturers to use a number of ingredients that pose safety or environmental concerns in cosmetic products.

“Currently, the US has low standards for ingredients formulated into beauty products and we have the opportunity to set the bar higher and also to continue demonstrating that our brand can do well by doing good,” said Caroline Hadfield, Senior Vice President, Personal Care at Amyris.

The list builds on the 1,300 ingredients currently banned in Europe, adding 700-odd that it has found to be contrary to the brand’s philosophy, including conflict minerals, parabens and oxybenzone, which is linked to mass die-offs in coral.