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Join a senior leader from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for an insightful keynote exploring the agency’s current priorities, emerging areas of focus, and evolving approach to advancing public health. This session will provide attendees with a high-level view of the scientific, regulatory, and policy issues shaping the future of the cosmetics and personal care products sector.

Drawing on leadership experience across the agency, the keynote will examine topics such as innovation, product safety, ingredient evaluation, regulatory modernization, and the implementation of new authorities under the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act (MoCRA). Attendees will gain valuable perspective on the opportunities and challenges ahead, as well as the role of science in supporting effective, risk-based decision-making.

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This presentation will discuss the tiered approach to environmental risk assessment (ERA) used by PCPC’s Environmental Safety Committee (ESC) to evaluate cosmetic and over-the-counter (OTC) drug ingredients. An overview of the ERA process will be provided, including ingredient prioritization, exposure assessment, effects assessment, risk characterization, and consideration of environmental safety properties. The models used to predict environmental concentrations resulting from both the down-the-drain pathway, in which ingredients are subject to wastewater treatment prior to environmental release, and the recreational beach pathway, in which ingredients (i.e., UV filters in sunscreens) are directly released to the aquatic environment, will be discussed. The presentation will include examples of the use of ERA results to support the development of communication materials, including regulatory comments.

Sunscreen formulations in the U.S. are evolving after 26 years of relative stagnation. State regulatory pressure and consumer demand for “cleaner” formulas have narrowed the range of acceptable, effective preservatives. Successful preservation depends on pH, compatibility, solubility, aqueous-phase distribution, and potential losses through adsorption or partitioning.

Mineral sunscreen launches have increased in the U.S., driven by restrictions on organic UV filters and consumer trends. Zinc oxide and titanium dioxide are viewed as safer and more natural, partly due to the FDA’s proposed GRASE status, but mineral formulas can feel heavy, leave white cast, and require alkaline pH for stability. This talk will examine traditional preservative limitations and how multifunctional ingredients can improve feel, UV protection, and preservation.

The recent approval of bemotrizinol (BEMT) also creates new opportunities for organic sunscreens by offering a photostable UV filter with low skin absorption and greater formulation flexibility. As BEMT is adopted, new compatibility factors must be considered. Together, these trends underscore the need for adaptable, formulation-specific preservation strategies.

While acute fish toxicity testing (e.g. OECD TG 203) has historically provided critical data for environmental risk assessment and regulatory decision-making, innovative alternative approaches have been developed to assess acute fish toxicity and ensure the environmental safety of cosmetic and personal care products without use of live animals. One such approach is the OECD TG 249 fish cell acute toxicity assay. This test leverages exposure of chemical substances to a permanent fish gill cell line to predict acute fish toxicity. The assay’s predictivity for acute fish toxicity has been demonstrated for chemicals with a range of physico-chemical properties, modes of action and toxicity. This presentation will provide perspective on the need for alternative assays, an overview of the OECD TG 249 and relevant data, current regulatory perspective and future needs.

As cosmetics manufacturing moves toward heightened scrutiny and more explicit GMP expectations, contamination events offer a powerful lens for understanding what “readiness” really looks like in practice. This session uses a collection of contamination case studies to show how a single event can expose deeper weaknesses in hygiene programs, risk assessment, documentation, and cross-functional decision making.

The discussion goes beyond the immediate incident to highlight the broader readiness questions manufacturers should be asking now: Were controls scientifically justified? Were responsibilities clear? Did the site have enough evidence to defend its decisions? And were corrective actions built for inspection resilience, or just short-term recovery? By pairing contamination narratives with a practical GMP-readiness mindset, this session will help attendees connect contamination control to the bigger compliance picture. The audience will leave with a clearer view of how to translate regulatory intent into operational guardrails that are realistic, risk-based, and sustainable in personal care manufacturing environments.

This talk will describe a project steered by the International Collaboration on Cosmetics Safety (ICCS) that aims to develop a next generation environmental risk assessment (NGeRA) framework that considers both human and environmental evidence and demonstrate proof of concept by applying the framework to 2-3 cosmetic ingredients as case studies. The approach to develop the NGeRA framework will be discussed as well as findings for the case study ingredients. The outcome of the case studies will demonstrate how to use the proposed NGeRA framework with cosmetics ingredients, how an environmental assessment can be conducted in the absence of experimental animal data (i.e., demonstrate how to use non-animal/new approach methodologies (NAMs) in NGeRA), and provide a comparison to safety assessments completed with "traditional" hazard data. 

Micro exemptions for low-risk products replace batch testing with a chemistry-based safety framework, ensuring compliance through the global ISO 29621 standard. This approach leverages "hostile" formulas, which use physicochemical hurdles like low water activity or extreme pH to prevent microbial growth. To transition to periodic "skip-lot" testing, you must first establish a stable, documented historical baseline of 30 batches. Ultimately, exemptions must be defended to auditors with a documented, data-backed Product Information File (PIF).

As consumer demand for cleaner, more sustainable beauty products continues to grow, formulators face the dual challenge of meeting rigorous performance standards while sourcing ingredients that are natural, naturally derived, and environmentally respectful. This presentation introduces fine powders and exfoliants designed for use across color cosmetics, skincare, suncare, and other personal care applications.

The featured ingredients span natural wax-based technologies including carnauba wax, upcycled rice bran wax, and hydrogenated castor oil, as well as naturally derived cellulose and cellulose acetate materials, all of which are biodegradable. Each ingredient addresses a specific formulation need, from advanced SPF boosting and optical diffusion, to long wear and transfer resistance, aesthetics enhancement, moisture retention, and texture-transforming exfoliation.

Beyond performance, this talk will highlight how these materials serve as effective microplastic-free alternatives, supporting both regulatory compliance and brand sustainability commitments. Attendees will gain insight into how these ingredients enable formulators to build high-performing, on-trend products without compromising on environmental impact.

The personal care industry faces growing pressure to enhance product safety while accelerating release timelines and improving manufacturing efficiency. Traditional microbiological methods, though reliable, often delay decision-making due to long incubation times. In contrast, the food industry has broadly adopted the use of rapid microbiological methods, driven by regulatory frameworks, high-throughput operations, and proactive risk management.

This session will highlight how food industry practices can inform the adoption of rapid testing in personal care. Key drivers—including risk-based decision-making, relevant study designs, and speed-to-market—will be explored alongside practical validation approaches aligned with AOAC, ISO, and internal requirements.

A critical distinction lies in validation models: food microbiology relies on third-party certification (e.g., AOAC, AFNOR, MicroVal) to ensure harmonization and confidence, while personal care depends on individual laboratory validation. This session will examine opportunities to align these approaches—reducing validation burden through certification while reinforcing performance through user verification.

Common barriers, including regulatory uncertainty and implementation complexity, will be addressed, along with strategies to build a strong technical and business case for routine use of alternative methods.  Participants will gain actionable insights to modernize testing programs to support faster, more confident product release decisions.

As environmental policy and chemical management programs continue to evolve, understanding EPA priorities is essential for companies operating across the personal care products value chain. In this session, a senior EPA leader will provide an update on the agency’s national program priorities and the initiatives shaping its approach to environmental protection, pollution prevention, and chemical safety.

The discussion will explore key topics of interest to industry, including efforts to expand pollution prevention programs, advance waste reduction strategies, and support pollinator protection initiatives. Attendees will also gain insight into EPA’s chemical safety programs, including developments in new chemical reviews and broader efforts to evaluate and manage risks under the agency’s authorities.

Designed for scientists, regulatory professionals, environmental sustainability leaders, and business decision-makers, this session will offer valuable perspective on the evolving regulatory landscape and what organizations should be watching in the months and years ahead.

*Subject to change