ICMAD Urges Congress for Uniformity on Cosmetics Legislation

In a move to highlight the major impact of future legislation on the cosmetic industry, the Independent Cosmetic Manufacturers and Distributors (ICMAD) took part in a dialogue about how to modernize oversight of the cosmetics and personal care industry at the recent Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee hearing.

ICMAD is working with members of Congress, including Represen­tative Pete Sessions (R-TX), author of the Safe Cosmetics Modernization Act, to modernize FDA oversight of the cosmetics industry.

 The last thing American entrepreneurs and job creators need is unnecessary regulatory burdens or a patchwork of contradictory regulations - Pam Busiek

"At ICMAD, safety is the top priority of our companies, and we welcome this important conversation about how to modernize oversight of the cosmetic and personal care industry," said Pam Busiek, ICMAD President and CEO. "Making it as a small business owner in the cosmetics industry—or any industry, for that matter—is an uphill climb with many challenges. The last thing American entrepreneurs and job creators need is unnecessary regulatory burdens or a patchwork of contradictory regulations. That is why we support the Safe Cosmetics Modernization Act, which will modernize FDA regulations and create a national safety standard that ensures consumers get safe, high-quality, innovative cosmetic products."

Impact on Small Businesses
At the hearing, Curran Dandurand, CEO of Jack Black LLC, a leading brand of men's skin care products, testified about her personal experience creating and managing a small business in the cosmetic industry while juggling the patchwork of state safety regulations.

Consequences for the small business owner would be disastrous - Curran Dandurand

"It's absolutely clear that the erosion of a national standard has and will continue to substantially increase the cost of producing and distributing personal care products, with a dispropo­rtionate impact on smaller companies," Dandurand said.

Dandurand continued: "Consequences for the small business owner would be disastrous: many would have to stop doing business in states where they could not afford to comply, others would go out of business altogether and still other businesses would never get started in the first place. If this had been the regulatory landscape 16 years ago when we started Jack Black we would have had a very difficult time getting out of the starting gate, much less becoming successful, and our company and product line would probably not exist today."