Personal Care Products Council History

CTFA's International Program

The emergence of a true global marketplace in the 1970s ushered in an entirely new area of concern for CTFA.

As early as 1974, CTFA participated in the launch of the International Information Center for Cosmetics, an international clearinghouse for the collection and exchange of information. This center gave industry the opportunity to access valuable information concerning regulations, technical and scientific documentation, advertising and regulation of competition.

In the 1980s, CTFA's involvement in international issues expanded significantly, with major initiatives undertaken in Europe, Japan and Latin America. CTFA's International Committee, formed in 1977, nearly tripled in size by 1982. In addition, CTFA formed an International Department in 1984.

In Europe, CTFA established close working ties with COLIPA, the federation of cosmetic trade associations within the European Economic Community (EEC). CTFA worked with them on ensuring that ingredients used or manufactured by U.S. companies were included on the EEC's list of substantiated products.

In 1980, CTFA formed two EEC task forces to assure that cosmetic sunscreen and preservative ingredients used in the United States also were permitted in the EEC.

In 1989, CTFA enhanced its ability to closely monitor events in Europe by working with its outside counsel, Covington & Burling, to establish an office in Brussels to keep members informed about industry concerns and to convey members' views.

The relationship with COLIPA allowed CTFA to work with the Europeans to develop a common position on new cosmetic regulations.

For the Japanese market, CTFA formed a task force in 1980, whose primary objective was to eliminate non-tariff trade barriers. These efforts included publishing a consolidated list of approximately 2,400 ingredients approved for use in Japan in 1984.

After four years of working closely with the Japanese Cosmetic Industry Association to open the Japanese market, CTFA achieved a significant milestone when President Ed Kavanaugh met with Prime Minister Nakasone in April 1985. During the meeting, the Japanese leader instructed an aide to direct Japan's Ministry of Health and Welfare to "loosen restrictions on cosmetics," which subsequently led to the elimination of individual product approval for many cosmetics.

The following year, CTFA co-sponsored the first International Conference on Cosmetic Regulation in Japan. CTFA's efforts in Japan were described as a model for other industries to follow.

In later years, CTFA's international efforts continued to press for opening new markets for members.

In May 1986, CTFA received an invitation from China's Ministry of Light Industry to visit Beijing and Shanghai to learn firsthand the opportunities and potential pitfalls of the Chinese market. A 25-person delegation completed a successful trip the following October. Other initiatives were launched in Korea and Hungary.

In the mid-1980s, CTFA also undertook an aggressive campaign directed at U.S. Customs and other law enforcement officials around the world to curb the import of counterfeit products. From these efforts, CTFA produced a "Product Identification Book" for customs agents and an anti-counterfeiting video highlighting how to spot counterfeit products.

In the early 1990s, CTFA's testimony in support of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) pointed to the industry's successful initiatives to reduce market restrictions in Mexico.

The Animal Rights Movement

The animal testing issue first emerged as a major concern for the cosmetics industry in the late 1970s. Animal welfare and animal rights groups focused their criticism on the industry's use of the Draize eye irritancy test to substantiate the safety of ingredients and products.

Picketing of CTFA headquarters and CTFA member companies in 1979 thrust the issue to the forefront. In the summer of that year, CTFA prepared an official position paper on animal testing entitled "Animal Testing: What Are the Choices?"

As pressure continued to mount, the Executive Committee ordered CTFA's science committees to continue exploring the issue and directed the drafting of a detailed legal position.

In April 1980, CTFA's Pharmacology and Toxicology Committee established a task force that would review the Draize test, explore alternative testing procedures, and recommend research programs for the development and/or validation of alternative testing procedures.

In October 1980, CTFA sponsored a symposium on animal testing, bringing together both sides of the issue for an open exchange of opinions and ideas. At the meeting, CTFA stated that it was "ready, willing, and able to consider modification of procedures to address alternative procedures."

In 1981, the CTFA Board approved a program for the industry to fund a national center for the development of alternatives to animal testing. It awarded The Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health a $1 million three-year grant. This initial grant was supplemented with an additional $700,000 in 1984 and continued funding in subsequent years.

In cooperation with the Battelle Memorial Institute, CTFA has conducted since 1988 an evaluation of the alternatives program. Although the industry was able to greatly reduce the number of animals used in safety testing, animal rights groups continued their offensive throughout the 1980s.

CTFA's Board decided to concentrate resources on defeating legislation that would ban animal testing at the state level, rather than conduct a general educational campaign.

Californiabecame a critical test ground for this issue and became the only state to actually pass legislation banning animal testing. In 1990, California Governor Deukmejian vetoed the legislation.

After this legislation again passed both the California Senate and General Assembly in 1991, CTFA orchestrated a state-wide editorial campaign in more than 50 California newspapers. CTFA also gained the support of former Surgeon General Dr. C. Everett Koop, who helped convince decision makers.

These efforts resulted in the veto of the legislation by California Governor Wilson.

Regulatory and Legislative Battles of the 1980s

The long-running effort by CTFA to permanently list color additives provisionally listed under the 1960 Color Additive Amendments continued into the 1980s.

After completing two rounds of tests in the 1960s and 1970s, the industry was ordered by FDA to run a third round of tests in 1977. These tests were financed through voluntary contributions of member companies.

In March 1983, CTFA President Ed Kavanaugh met with FDA Commissioner Hayes and convinced the agency not to delist three very important color additives. CTFA then set out to establish the safety of several provisionally listed color additives. It also urged FDA to adopt a "de minimis" standard, whereby FDA could approve color additives that had a minimal cancer risk.

Consumer groups filed two major lawsuits against FDA and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), urging the ban of provisionally listed color additives. Afterward, HHS Secretary Margaret Heckler stated that she favored a de minimis standard, leaving it up to the Secretary's discretion to permit products to remain on the market or to be approved for use if the risk was insignificant.

Subsequently, the U.S. Court of Appeals ruled in 1987 "with some reluctance" that FDA did not have the authority to apply the de minimis policy, thereby mandating a strict interpretation of the Delaney anti-cancer clause.

CTFA worked to develop additional data to support petitions for the use of new colors as well as for additional uses of previously listed colors.

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