Ithos Global Blog

In a statement, Key West Mayor Teri Johnston said it's the commission's "obligation" to protect the Florida Reef – a beautiful ecosystem that stretches almost 150 miles and is the only living coral barrier reef in the continental United States.

States such a... Continue reading

Queen Elizabeth I ruled England for 44 years. When she died in 1603, many believe the cause of death was blood poisoning, brought on by copious use of a lead-based makeup known as “Venetian Ceruse.” Venetian Ceruse was a mixture of lead and vinegar. The substance was classified as a poison 31 years after Elizabeth’s death.

About 415 years later, as of December 3, 2018, the United States Food and Drug Administration ended its approval of lead acetate as a legal color additive. New data has convinced the FDA there's no longer a rea... Continue reading

The following are the ten top stories of 2018 in cosmetics compliance from the Ithos Global Blog this year. Top stories of 2018 included themes such as:

This list of top stories from 2018 is compiled based on clicks, client comments and editorial engagement from complementary cosmetics compliance related industry journals.

How to Make a Billion Dollars in Cosmetics: The New Age of Software & Services (How Kylie Jenner Did It)

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Hemp cosmetics such as hemp cream and hemp lotion, CBD lip balm and ointments, infused hand cream and body lotion, are coming into the spotlight on the cosmetics product stage. Here's what personal care companies need to know about hemp cream, hemp lotion and everything hemp cosmetic.

High times: hemp lotion and hemp creams

"Cannabidiol (CBD) is one of the more than 100 chemicals in cannabis, and is emerging as a popular wellness ingredient. The plant extract, often consumed as an oil under the tongue, is now the featured ingredient in high-end products including co... Continue reading

The California Air Resources Board or CARB exists to plan for development that allows residents to rely less on individual cars, and provides greater opportunities for walking, biking and access to clean transit options – all of which are the foundation of a sustainable community.

Typically, the methods towards such civic sustainability goals involve coordinating transportation and land use planning to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Sustainability by cutting carbon

In s... Continue reading

New data release:  the first aggregate report from California Safe Cosmetics Program has been released. The document summarizes all California cosmetics data reported between the 2009 program launch and the cutoff date for this report of December 17, 2015.

The purpose of the CSCP data is to share the large cache of data that’s been collected under the California Safe Cosmetics Act. The California cosmetics report is publicly available for companies in the industry, organizations or agencies working on chemicals and cosmetics issues, and other interested groups or in... Continue reading

There are chemicals in nail polish that are being phased out. Cosmetics companies now fav... Continue reading

California has a transparency law known as SB 258, which is the Cleaning Product Right to Know Act. There are rumblings that certain entities would like to introduce a bill similar to CA SB 258 – but for cosmetic products – a "Cosmetic Product Right to Know Act," if you will.

Something to consider, however, is the reality that current legislation already covers the same issues for cosmetic products.

In the big picture, it's better that companies making cosmetic products show compliance with CA Safe Cosmetics Act –... Continue reading

Last week, the Canadian government released the final draft of a ban on asbestos. Asbestos in makeup will be illegal, along with asbestos in almost every product. It's now illegal to import, manufacture, sell, trade or use products made with asbestos. It includes a ban on asbestos used as a direct add, and trace restrictions for use in all consumer products. 

The big news is: thresholds and standards have been established. More on that below.

The ban will go into effect Dec. 30, 2018.  

It will be known as “The Prohibition of Asbestos and Products Containing Asbestos Regulations.” Its a regulation of asbestos in makeup and other consumer pr... Continue reading

Breaking news: Canada has just completed their assessments of talcum powder. Health Canada is now evaluating what type of restrictions are necessary. The draft health assessment identified talc as:

Ithos Global advises that... Continue reading

Organizations such as GC3, the Green Chemistry and Commerce Council, are working on facilitating chemical data flow along supply chains. Companies like Ithos Global provide companies with the software to do it. And now, Washington DC is getting in on the green chemistry action – or rather, getting back in on the action.

U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Chris Coons (D-Del.) have reintroduced the bipartisan green chemistry bill called “Sustain... Continue reading

Artificial Intelligence or AI innovations for cosmetic product development use advanced machine learning algorithms to create new and innovative formulations.

An AI system is able to sift through hundreds of thousands of formulas – and thousands of raw material possibilities – to cull data for pattern discovery and new combinations to take cosmetic product development to the next level. It’s not a panacea. AI innovations are useful but won’t deliver a final product yet without a human involved.  

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Three years ago, Shanghai wrote to the Chinese State Council proposing a pilot implementation of the “Separation of Operation Permits and Business Licenses” reformation. The reformation represented significant regulatory updates in China’s cosmetics market.

In 2015, in response to that letter pitching regulatory updates to China’s marketplace -- including cosmetics -- the State Council agreed to implement the pilot reformation in Shanghai Pudong New Area and the pilot period would last for three years.

The reformation proposal for regulatory updates... Continue reading

Organic, all-natural cosmetics are taking over the cosmetics industry. Next up: natural fragrance.

"Scent sells. So not only are there definitely more fragranced products in the world [these days], the fragrances themselves are also more complex. And for many people, repeated exposures can bring about a constellation of symptoms," says Tracie DeFreitas Saa... Continue reading

In the United States, fragrance ingredients in cosmetics must meet the same requirement for safety as other cosmetic ingredients. Law doesn’t require FDA to approve cosmetics or fragrances or fragrance ingredients before they go to market, but these things must be safe for consumers when used a) according to labeled directions, or b) in the manner that people customarily use them. In other words, cosmetics are not FDA-approved prior to going to market, but they are FDA-regulated.

Current law says that companies and individuals who manufac... Continue reading

The new US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, USMCA, will affect North American trade. The agreement was finalized by the three nations in September 2018.

One commenter called the new North American trade agreement “NAFTA 2.0,” meaning that USMCA is merely an updated version of NAFTA. But it ma... Continue reading

A question from a recent trade show: Can Safety Data Sheet information help a company create more sustainable products and thus become a more millennial-friendly brand? The answer is yes, and here’s how.

An SDS sheet will tell you, for example, if you have a container of fragrance, whether the contents are flammable, toxic if swallowed, or dangerous if in contact with skin. Or can the fumes be dangerous? What chemicals in the fragrance are flagged for safety by regulatory agencies?

Data in an SDS sheet is a foundational component of a lower-impact product... Continue reading

Pop singer Katy Perry is the face of CoverGirl, the global cosmetics giant that has announced they’ll now make and sell cruelty free makeup only, across all product lines, in all regions.

Some markets, such as California, are deciding in favor of cruelty free makeup legislation. And now, companies are realizing it’s good business to forgo animal testing altogether.

CoverGirl states they’re now producing only cruelty free makeup – meaning no CoverGirl products have been tested on animals,... Continue reading

There are two types of companies: those that have been hacked, and those who do not know they have been hacked. This quote was (famously) said by John Chambers, longtime CEO of Cisco. Data breaches and tampering happens, but blockchain for supply chain is coming to the rescue. Blockchain for supply chain is set to revolutionize how data about our goods and raw materials is stored, managed and transferred.

The reason supply chains need blockchain

Improved computer technology and faster internet are the foundation for modern data acquisition, analysis, and essential processes t... Continue reading

Gillette Procter & Gamble has been awarded a tariff exemption from a 25% tariff for Japanese and Swedish steel, which is the metal used for Venus and Gillette razors.

P&G received the exemption four months after a competitor, Edgewell, received a similar tariff exemption.

A spokesperson for Procter & Gamble expressed that the company earned a tariff exemption because they experienced measurable negative financial impact from the tariffs recently imposed on imports by the US government under the Trump administrati... Continue reading