Industry Leaders Welcome Newly Elected Council Chairman Scott Beattie; Highlight Successes Under Outgoing Chairman Dan Brestle

At the Personal Care Products Council’s 118th Annual Meeting in Naples, Florida more than 470 industry leaders gathered to discuss the opportunities and challenges facing the global cosmetic and personal care products industry in the coming year, to highlight recent accomplishments and elect new officers

Newly elected Council Chairman E. Scott Beattie, Chairman and CEO for Elizabeth Arden, said the Council will focus this year on legislative advocacy and regulatory policies, strengthening the cosmetic ingredient review (CIR) program to support product safety, working to harmonize global regulation, and building and defending the reputation of the industry.  He also highlighted the participation at the meeting of nine international trade associations.

“I’m sure the international meeting this week will result in stronger cross country, cross regional and cross functional collaboration to secure our right to innovate and sell products globally,” Beattie said.

Retiring Council Chairman Dan Brestle highlighted the economic and political challenges the Council faced during his tenure and praised the industry for coming together to “emerge a stronger and more resilient industry” with a turnaround in U.S. sales in the luxury category, an uptick in mass, and the emergence of a growing men’s personal grooming business.  He pointed to how beauty consumers are changing the game, noting their increased sophistication, and how the traditional shopper has “gone from a passive receiver of information” to one who “controls the conversation.”

Brestle noted the dramatic recent changes in consumer behavior and urged industry leaders to focus on product innovation, growth and technology.

“Innovation is hard, it’s expensive, it requires great talent and it relies on a wide and full palette of ingredients with which to work,” Brestle said.  “You must not let this industry be hamstrung by legislation or regulation that limits the introduction of new, safe ingredients or bans the use of others we’ve used safely for decades.”

Council President and CEO Lezlee Westine outlined key Council accomplishments in 2011 including obtaining bi-partisan support for the industry’s legislative proposal to strengthen and enhance regulatory oversight of cosmetics, streamlining the cosmetic ingredient review process, advocating for international harmonization of cosmetic regulations throughout the world and engaging in social media and other communication’s platforms to get the facts out about product and ingredient safety.

“We will continue our work and build on these accomplishments in the coming year to help ensure a business environment that enables this industry to continue to grow and delight its consumers with safe, innovative products,” Westine said.

Other highlights from the annual meeting include: keynote speaker and founder of Trendhunter.com Jeremy Gutsche, who spoke on how to spot new trends and highlighted the importance of innovation, and a panel discussion with Bonnie Fuller, media executive and editor of HollywoodLife.com, Chris Elshaw, EVP and COO, Revlon, Inc., Kevin Gallagher, President of Croda, Inc., Emrah Kovacoglu, CEO of Total Beauty Media Group, and Cosimo Policastro, EVP, Fine Fragrance, Givaudan that examined how new raw materials and ingredients contribute to innovative product features.  Political analysts Charlie Cook and Stuart Rothenberg shared their predictions for the November elections and what they could mean for the personal care industry, and attendees heard insights from leading consumer trends experts from Essence Magazine, Univision Communications, and GQ.

The Council elected the following officers:

Chairman: Scott Beattie, Chairman, President & CEO, Elizabeth Arden

Vice Chairs:   Virginia Drosos, Group President-Global Female Grooming, Procter & Gamble

                  Chris Elshaw, EVP & Chief Operating Officer, Revlon

                  Heidi Manheimer, CEO, Shiseido Cosmetics (USA)

Secretary:   Linda Marshall, CEO, Elysee Scientific Cosmetics

Treasurer: David Holl, President & CEO, Mary Kay Inc.

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Statement by Lezlee Westine, President & CEO Personal Care Products Council on FDA’s Proposed 2013 Budget and User Fees for Cosmetics Industry

“While we fully support an effective FDA, we do not believe this new proposal for significantly expanding user fees is justified.  We look forward to working with Congress and the Administration on making sure this essential agency has the mandate, focus and resources needed to succeed.

“While we understand the budgetary constraints of the agency in the current environment and are aware of its interest in new user fees, we were disappointed to see significant user fees on our industry proposed in the 2013 budget.  We have opposed user fees in the past, and we continue to have grave concerns about the necessity of imposing burdensome user fees on our industry now, especially in the absence of a demonstrated need that would warrant fees of this magnitude.”

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Statement by Halyna Breslawec, Chief Scientist Personal Care Products Council on the Safety of Lipstick

Background:

In December 2011, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released results of a comprehensive study they conducted examining 400 lipsticks across many brands, and once again concluded that there was no safety concern from the amount of lead found in those products.  This followed an earlier examination of lipsticks by FDA in 2009.

Specifically, FDA states, “…we have assessed the potential for harm to consumers from use of lipstick containing lead at the levels found in both rounds of testing. Lipstick, as a product intended for topical use with limited absorption, is ingested only in very small quantities. We do not consider the lead levels we found in the lipsticks to be a safety concern. The lead levels we found are within the limits recommended by other public health authorities for lead in cosmetics, including lipstick.”

The issue, tracked by FDA since the 1990’s, is not new.  In 2009, FDA examined 20 products and found that the lead levels in those products did not present any safety concern. In an article published in the July/August 2009 edition of the peer-reviewed, Journal of Cosmetic Science, FDA scientists reported that they developed, validated and employed a highly sensitive and rigorous testing method to analyze the total lead content in a broad selection of lipsticks sold in the U.S. and found the lead levels present to be safe and well below limits recommended by international regulatory authorities.  

The FDA study of lead levels in lipstick conducted in 2009 was prompted by repeated and baseless allegations by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics (CSC), an activist group that alleged it found unsafe lead levels in a variety of lipsticks marketed in the U.S.  However, all of the lead levels the group identified were well below all established regulatory standards.

Statement:

“FDA again has reviewed the lead levels found in lipstick and determined them to be safe.  Unfortunately, some activist groups are misconstruing the results of the FDA study posted in December that found current lead levels in lipsticks to be well below limits recommended by international regulatory authorities.  In the study, FDA found trace levels of lead in various lipsticks ranging from 0.026 to 7.19 ppm and averaging 1.11 ppm. Using lipstick containing lead at this level would result in exposure 1000 times less than from daily consumption of water meeting EPA drinking water standards.

“Lead is never used as an intentionally added ingredient in or as an additive to lipstick.   However, lead is ubiquitous and found naturally in air, water, and soil. It may also be found at extremely low levels as a trace contaminant in the raw ingredients used in formulating cosmetics, such as lipstick, just as it is found in many thousands of other products.

“Following FDA’s December release of the findings from its recent study, the agency updated its “Lipstick and Lead: Questions and Answers” page with an analysis of those findings that may be found at: www.fda.gov/cosmetics/productandingredientsafety/productinformation/ucm137224.htm.

“Cosmetic companies are required by law to substantiate the safety of their products before they are marketed.  Nothing matters more to cosmetic companies than the safety of those products and the well- being of the women who use them.”

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