The EU is relaxing its rules on harmful substances in lipstick, sunscreen, and other cosmetics. Representatives from the European Parliament and the Council of the 27 EU member states reached an agreement overnight on Wednesday to allow cosmetics containing hazardous chemicals to remain on the market for longer. The deal gives manufacturers additional time to adapt to new prohibitions.
The changes concern substances that can be carcinogenic, mutagenic, or toxic to reproduction when used in larger quantities. The EU maintains a list of such chemicals, and once a substance is added to that list, it can no longer be used in cosmetic products.
Manufacturers can apply for an exemption if no alternative ingredients are available and they can demonstrate that the quantity used in their products is not harmful. Under the current rules, a maximum of eighteen months may pass between the listing of a chemical and a decision on an exemption application. If the application is rejected, the product must be withdrawn from the market.
These deadlines are now being extended. If a product fails the cosmetics safety test, the manufacturer may reintroduce it to the market for an additional three months and continue selling already-manufactured stock for up to nine months. If a product is considered safe but remains prohibited solely because alternatives are available, the deadlines are extended by two and three years respectively.
The changes could lead to "avoidable health risks," said Agustín Reyna, chair of the European consumer organisation BEUC, adding that legislators had nonetheless "prevented the worst" in the negotiations.
Lawmakers pushed back against more sweeping deregulation. The European Commission had originally proposed that substances harmful only through inhalation or ingestion should not be subject to a ban at all. This proposal was rejected by a majority in both the European Parliament and the Council of EU member states.
Cosmetics manufacturers had advocated for the relaxations and dismissed accusations that they were seeking to use hazardous substances for longer. The reform "makes it less likely that safe ingredients are prohibited, and ensures one hundred percent that ingredients that must be banned will be banned," the industry association Cosmetics Europe said in April.
The European Parliament and the Council of member states must still formally adopt the overnight agreement before it takes effect.
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