Reports show Johnson & Johnson Baby Shampoo can contain cancer causing substances

Reports and most content by The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics

Who could have suspected that claims of "gentle" and "pure" products for babies were deceiving?
Millions of us grew up using J&J baby shampoo and now we even use it for our own children, but recent studies conducted by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics have shown alarming results on a March 2009 report: "dozens of top-selling children’s bath products are contaminated with the cancer-causing chemicals formaldehyde and 1,4-dioxane"

What the study found:

The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics commissioned an independent laboratory to test 48 products for 1,4-dioxane; 28 of those products were also tested for formaldehyde. The lab found that:

• 17 out of 28 products tested – 61 percent – contained both formaldehyde and 1,4-dioxane.
• 23 out of 28 products – 82 percent – contained formaldehyde at levels ranging from 54 to 610 parts per million (ppm).
• 32 out of 48 products – 67 percent – contained 1,4-dioxane at levels ranging from 0.27 to 35 ppm.

Why we should be concerned:

"While a single product might not be cause for concern, the reality is that babies may be exposed to several products at bath time, several times a week, in addition to other chemical exposures in the home and environment. Those small exposures add up and may contribute to later-life disease.

Formaldehyde and 1,4-dioxane are known carcinogens; formaldehyde can also trigger skin rashes in some children. Unlike many other countries, the U.S. government does not limit formaldehyde, 1,4-dioxane, or most other hazardous substances in personal care products."

Even though formaldehyde and 1,4-dioxane are not added during the manufacturing of toiletry products and are not listed as ingredients on the product labels, these two cancer causing substances can emerge over time as other ingredients age and start breaking down.These chemicals "are not disclosed on product labels because they're contaminants, not ingredients, and therefore are exempt from labeling laws."

"Formaldehyde contaminates personal care products when common preservatives release formaldehyde over time in the container. Common ingredients likely to contaminate products with formaldehyde include quaternium-15, DMDM hydantoin, imidazolidinyl urea and diazolidinyl urea.
1,4-dioxane is a byproduct of a chemical processing technique called ethoxylation, in which cosmetic ingredients are processed with ethylene oxide. Manufacturers can easily remove the toxic byproduct, but are not required by law to do so. Common ingredients likely to be contaminated with 1,4-dioxane include PEG-100 stearate, sodium laureth sulfate, polyethylene and ceteareth-20."

Japan is one country that has prohibited the use of chemicals that can breakdown with time and produce formaldehyde in products.

What You Can Do

Contrary to industry statements, there are no regulatory standards that limit formaldehyde, 1,4-dioxane or most other toxic chemicals in personal care products sold in the United States. There are signs the U.S. is gearing to catch up, but for now it's up to consumers to consider carefully before they buy. Here's some suggestions for safeguarding your family's health:

• Simplify: Select products with fewer ingredients and no synthetic fragrance or dyes, and use fewer products overall.
• Choose safety: Search EWG's cosmetic safety database, Skin Deep, to learn more about the products you use and find safer alternatives. Also check out EWG's Safety Guide to Children’s Personal Care Products.
• Read labels: Select products for baby and yourself that don't contain the ingredients listed above, which are commonly contaminated with formaldehyde or 1,4-dioxane.
• Tell manufacturers that safety is important to you: Use this link to write to Johnson & Johnson about their product, Johnson's Baby Shampoo.
  
• Take action! Can’t memorize these lists? Nobody can. If harmful contaminants and ingredients weren’t allowed in products, you wouldn’t have to. Tell Congress you want safe cosmetics for babies, adults and everyone in between.
• Spread the word: Send an e-card letting friends and family know about this report.

Status Update

Led by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, 44 organizations representing 1.7 million moms, nurses, doctors and other people concerned about our environment and our health signed on to a May letter to J&J, in which we asked the company to make safe products and meet with us. Read the letter and list of signers.

On April 29, 2009, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) introduced the Safe Baby Products Act, which directs the Food and Drug Administration to investigate and regulate hazardous contaminants in personal care products marketed to or used by children. She introduced the bill in response to the "Toxic Tub" report.

Though the U.S. FDA has yet to respond to our test results, retailers and governments in Asia have taken action. Immediately following our report release, a major supermarket in China pulled Johnson & Johnson products from the shelves amid concerns that the products are contaminated with carcinogens. Both the Vietnamese Drug Administration and the Chinese government responded by testing products immediately. Though China later declared J&J products safe, it tested products made in China, not those for the U.S. market. Manufacturers can use different ingredients for different markets, which may be the case here. Because we don't have the full report from China, we have no way of knowing which products the Chinese government tested or what they found.

Here in the United States, tests found two carcinogenic contaminants in Johnson's Baby Shampoo. Other companies are making products without 1,4-dioxane or formaldehyde, and we ask that J&J remove these unnecessary toxins, too.