Since fragrance recipes are considered a trade secret, companies are not required to
disclose fragrance chemicals in the list of ingredients.
Not exact matches
By 2015 Johnson & Johnson will phase out those two
chemicals and others of concern, including triclosan, phthalates and parabens, as well as
fragrance ingredients, which aren't
disclosed on product labels.
«Due to trade secret laws, companies do not need to
disclose the
chemical ingredients that make up the
fragrance ingredient, so it's often just a code word for
chemicals,» Waller says.
Often, hair products contain
fragrances which have
chemicals that are not always
disclosed on product labels.
Top offenders include hormone and endocrine disruptors (parabens, phthalates,
chemical sunscreens like avobenzone and oxybenzone), suspected and known carcinogens (certain preservatives, formaldehyde releasers), and «
fragrance,» the most opaque «ingredient» of all, since it is basically a blanket term under which companies can hide any other ingredients they wish, without ever
disclosing what they are (in the US this is perfectly legal).
Remarkably, there is no requirement for ingredients on air fresheners to be
disclosed; and the products that do have ingredient lists summarize a potpourri of potentially deleterious
chemicals under the sneaky umbrella terms of «
fragrance.»
The report concludes that «laws must be changed to require the
chemicals in
fragrance to be fully
disclosed and publicly accessible on ingredient labels.»
Because they're considered trade secrets,
fragrances fall into a colossal loophole in federal law that doesn't require companies to
disclose the potentially hundreds of
chemicals in a single product's olfactory - tickling formula.
In fact, as part of the Cosmetics, Toiletries and
Fragrance Association trade group, the companies opposed a California bill that would require cosmetics firms to
disclose their use of
chemicals linked to cancer or birth defects.