josslyn
07-14-2009, 09:09 AM
It's shameful. The Environmental Working Group tested 1,606 sunscreens for last week's special report, and we found that 3 out of 5 offer inadequate protection from the sun or actually contain toxic ingredients.
Yet the federal Food and Drug Administration still refuses to hold the manufacturers accountable for their misleading advertising and dangerous products - despite more than 30 years of promises.
EWG tested leading sunscreens from name brands like Coppertone, Banana Boat, and Neutrogena, and the results were not pretty.
We discovered that, despite improvements, 42% of tested sunscreens still contained the chemical oxybenzone, shown in laboratory tests to disrupt the endocrine system and release reactive oxygen species that could contribute to skin cancer.
Overall, only 5% of the products we analyzed met EWG's criteria for safety and effectiveness.
The FDA should be the ones protecting our families, but they have been pledging to issue final regulations for more than 30 years. We can't wait to keep our families safe.
EWG's mission is to expose the truth to protect your family's health and to protect our environment. For 15 years, we've been doing the FDA's job - publishing research that lets consumers make safe choices for their families.
Ken Cook
EWG
ewg.org/cosmetics/report/sunscreen09/press-release
Yet the federal Food and Drug Administration still refuses to hold the manufacturers accountable for their misleading advertising and dangerous products - despite more than 30 years of promises.
EWG tested leading sunscreens from name brands like Coppertone, Banana Boat, and Neutrogena, and the results were not pretty.
We discovered that, despite improvements, 42% of tested sunscreens still contained the chemical oxybenzone, shown in laboratory tests to disrupt the endocrine system and release reactive oxygen species that could contribute to skin cancer.
Overall, only 5% of the products we analyzed met EWG's criteria for safety and effectiveness.
The FDA should be the ones protecting our families, but they have been pledging to issue final regulations for more than 30 years. We can't wait to keep our families safe.
EWG's mission is to expose the truth to protect your family's health and to protect our environment. For 15 years, we've been doing the FDA's job - publishing research that lets consumers make safe choices for their families.
Ken Cook
EWG
ewg.org/cosmetics/report/sunscreen09/press-release