Bill Summary
The **Toxic-Free Beauty Act of 2025** aims to enhance consumer safety by amending the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to prohibit certain harmful substances in cosmetic products. Key provisions of the bill include:
1. **Banning Specific Ingredients**: The act explicitly bans the use of certain chemicals in cosmetics, including formaldehyde, various parabens, mercury, and several other substances known to pose health risks.
2. **Contaminant Limits**: It sets limits on harmful contaminants such as lead, asbestos, and 1,4-dioxane, ensuring they are present only at very low levels (e.g., lead at 2 ppm for color cosmetics).
3. **Definitions**: The act clarifies terminology related to cosmetics, distinguishing between "color cosmetics" (those that add color) and "general cosmetics" (those that serve other purposes like cleansing or moisturizing).
4. **State Regulations**: The act allows states to impose stricter regulations on cosmetic ingredients, ensuring that state laws are not preempted by federal standards.
5. **Effective Date**: The new regulations will take effect on January 1, 2027, giving manufacturers time to comply.
Overall, the Toxic-Free Beauty Act of 2025 is designed to protect consumers from potentially dangerous chemicals in beauty products, promoting safer cosmetic formulations.
Possible Impacts
The "Toxic-Free Beauty Act of 2025" could have the following impacts on people:
1. **Health Benefits**: By banning harmful substances like formaldehyde, mercury, and various parabens from cosmetic products, the legislation aims to reduce the risk of health issues associated with these chemicals, such as skin irritations, allergic reactions, and more serious long-term health effects. Consumers would benefit from safer products, leading to improved overall well-being.
2. **Increased Product Safety Awareness**: The act may lead to heightened awareness among consumers regarding the ingredients in their cosmetics. As people become more informed about what constitutes a "toxic" ingredient, they might make more conscious choices in their beauty products, prompting manufacturers to reformulate their products accordingly. This could result in a market shift towards safer and more transparent cosmetic products.
3. **Impact on Industry Regulations and Practices**: Cosmetic manufacturers will need to adapt their formulations to comply with the new regulations, potentially increasing production costs. This could lead to higher prices for consumers or a reduction in the variety of available products. Additionally, smaller companies may struggle to meet the new standards, which could impact competition in the cosmetics market and affect job stability in the industry.
[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4433 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4433
To amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to ban certain
substances in cosmetic products, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 16, 2025
Ms. Schakowsky (for herself, Mrs. Fletcher, Mrs. Dingell, Mr. Evans of
Pennsylvania, Mr. Khanna, Ms. Norton, Mr. Thanedar, Ms. Tlaib, and Mrs.
Watson Coleman) introduced the following bill; which was referred to
the Committee on Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to ban certain
substances in cosmetic products, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Toxic-Free Beauty Act of 2025''.
SEC. 2. BAN ON CERTAIN SUBSTANCES IN COSMETIC PRODUCTS.
(a) In General.--Section 601 of the Federal Food, Drug, and
Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 361) is amended by adding at the end the
following:
``(h) If it contains as an ingredient, any intentionally added
ortho-phthalate or formaldehyde-releasing preservative.
``(i) If it contains any of the following intentionally added
ingredients:
``(1) Formaldehyde (CAS No. 50-00-0).
``(2) Methylene glycol (CAS No. 463-57-0).
``(3) Mercury and mercury compounds (CAS No. 7439-97-6).
``(4) Isobutylparaben (CAS No. 4247-02-3).
``(5) Isopropylparaben (CAS No. 4191-73-5).
``(6) M-Phenylenediamine (including the salts of such
substance) (CAS No. 108-45-2).
``(7) O-Phenylenediamine (including the salts of such
substance) (CAS No. 95-54-5).
``(8) Lilial (CAS No. 7439-97-6).
``(9) Styrene (CAS No. 100-42-5).
``(10) Toluene (CAS No. 108-88-3).
``(11) Triclosan (CAS No. 3380-34-5).
``(12) Triclocarban (CAS No. 101-20-2).
``(13) Cyclotetrasiloxane (CAS No. 556-67-2).
``(14) Acetaldehyde (CAS No. 75-07-0).
``(15) Vinyl acetate (CAS No. 108-05-4).
``(j) If it contains any of the following contaminants:
``(1) 1,4 dioxane (CAS No. 14807-96-6) present at or above
2 parts per million (referred to in this paragraph as `ppm').
``(2) Lead and lead compounds (CAS No. 7439-92-1) present
at or above 2 ppm for color cosmetics or 5 ppm for general
cosmetics.
``(3) Asbestos or asbestos containing compounds, including
asbestos-contaminated talc (present at the lowest possible
limit of detection).''.
(b) Definitions.--Section 604 of the Federal Food, Drug, and
Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 364) is amended--
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (4) and (5) as paragraphs
(11) and (12), respectively; and
(2) by inserting after paragraph (3) the following:
``(4) Color cosmetic.--The term `color cosmetic' means a
cosmetic that either enhances or conceals natural pigment of an
individual's skin by applying color, including eyeshadow,
eyeliner, blush, lipstick, and foundation.
``(5) Contaminant.--The term `contaminant' means a chemical
that was not intentionally added to a cosmetic and is
incidental to the manufacturing process and serves no intended
function in the finished cosmetic.
``(6) Formaldehyde-releasing preservative.--The term
`formaldehyde-releasing preservative' means a chemical that
releases formaldehyde, to preserve the cosmetic.
``(7) General cosmetic.--The term `general cosmetic' means
a cosmetic that is not primarily intended to provide color,
including a product that cleanses, protects, moisturizes,
provides fragrance, or enhances appearance without imparting
color.
``(8) Ingredient.--The term `ingredient' means any single
chemical entity or mixture used as a component in the
manufacture of a cosmetic.
``(9) Intentionally added.--The term `intentionally added'
means, with respect to a cosmetic, the addition of a chemical
to a cosmetic that serves an intended function in the cosmetic.
``(10) Ortho-phthalate.--The term `ortho-phthalate' means
any member of the class of organic chemicals that are esters of
phthalic acid containing two carbon chains located in the ortho
position.''.
(c) Non-Preemption.--Section 614(b) of the Federal Food, Drug, and
Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 364j(b)) is amended to read as follows:
``(b) Limitations.--
``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding subsection (a), nothing
in this section shall be construed to prevent any State (or a
political subdivision thereof) from--
``(A) prohibiting the use or limiting the amount of
an ingredient in a cosmetic product;
``(B) continuing to implement a requirement of such
State (or a political subdivision thereof) that is in
effect at the time of enactment of the Modernization of
Cosmetics Regulation Act of 2022 for the reporting to
the State (or a political subdivision thereof) of an
ingredient in a cosmetic product; or
``(C) implementing a requirement of such State (or
a political subdivision thereof) that prohibits or
limits the use (or the amount of such use) of an
ingredient or contaminant specified in paragraph (h),
(i), or (j) of section 601 in a cosmetic product (or
continuing to implement any such requirement that is in
effect as of the date of the enactment of the Toxic-
Free Beauty Act of 2025).
``(2) Modernization of cosmetics regulation act of 2022.--
Nothing in the amendments to this Act made by the Modernization
of Cosmetics Regulation Act of 2022 shall be construed to
preempt any State statute, public initiative, referendum,
regulation, or other State action, except as expressly provided
in subsection (a).''.
(d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall
apply with respect to cosmetics introduced or delivered into
introduction into interstate commerce beginning on January 1, 2027.
<all>