Health & beauty

Cosmetics labelling

Updated: 28 Sep 2009

Introduction

Since July 2009, all cosmetic products have been required to carry a label stating what’s in them.

The rule change is to help protect people against adverse reactions from some of the chemicals used. But we visited several Wellington stores and readily found unlabelled products ranging from mascara to perfume, nail polish and body lotion.

What we found

Unlabelled cosmetic products found in Wellington

We went shopping in Wellington, looking for unlabelled cosmetics. Here’s a snapshot of what was on sale.

Chemists

We visited Radius and Unichem stores. Unlabelled lip gloss and nail polish were on sale at both chains.

At a Unichem store, we found unlabelled She-brand lip gloss and nail polish. Apart from the brand name, there was little info on these products.

Unichem is part of the Pharmacybrands group. Pharmacybrands chief executive Alan Wham told us the company wasn’t aware of the new labelling rules and would be communicating with all suppliers and stores to inform them of the requirements.

Alan says when She products were introduced into stores, stockists were sent ingredient lists to attach to display stands. However, these lists have “at times gone missing”. He says sales reps have now been asked to check each store and if there is no ingredient list to attach a new one to the stand.

At a Radius Pharmacy in central Wellington, we found Maybelline’s Shiny-Licious lip gloss and Natio nail polish – both unlabelled. Radius Pharmacy’s Mike Kotlyar told us ingredients lists for these products are available at the company’s shops. In the stores we visited, we didn’t see them on display stands.

Department stores

At Farmers, Maybelline’s Shiny-Licious lip gloss turned up again – unlabelled. We also bought Max Factor’s Age Renew Foundation and Australis Lash Me Mousse Mascara. Neither product had a label listing its ingredients – and the info wasn’t provided anywhere on the display cabinet.

Farmers’ Michael Power says it will be “following up with the suppliers of these products”.

Next stop: Kirkcaldie & Stains department store, regarded as one of Wellington’s most upmarket establishments. We bought Lacoste Love of Pink Body Lotion. Lacoste costs: this bottle was $25, marked down from $56! Discounted or not, it should have had an ingredients label – and it didn’t.

Kirkcaldie’s Lyn Tait told us the store has now removed items of concern from display.

Discount stores

We also found unlabelled products in more cost-conscious stores. On sale at The $2 Shop was Lily of the Valley Eau de Toilette. This Chinese-made perfume had no label. It did have some mysterious particles – possibly dust, possibly something less savoury – floating in it. Other unlabelled perfumes were also on display.

Equally troubling was the box of Cancen Hair Colour Cream we found at The $2 Shop. The box didn’t have a list of ingredients. But when we opened it, there was a list on the tube of colour cream. Disturbingly, one of the chemicals this product contained – m-phenylenediamine – is banned from use in hair dyes and has been for some time. Selling this product is illegal. We reported it to the Environmental Risk Management Authority (ERMA) and the Ministry of Health has now requested a voluntary recall of the hair dye.

This isn’t the first time we’ve found problems with cosmetics sold at The $2 Shop in Wellington. In our 2008 hair dyes report we warned against buying another Chinese-made hair dye called Shinuo. This hair dye didn’t have a complete list of ingredients and we were concerned that it could contain chemicals declared unsafe to use.

If you find cosmetics in any shop that aren’t adequately labelled, don’t buy them.

New labelling rules

New rules for cosmetics labelling were introduced in 2008. The rules require all chemicals used in cosmetics to be disclosed either on the product, on its packaging, or on a label at the point of sale. Companies were given a generous 12-month period to comply before the rules took effect on 24 July 2009.

The requirements apply to all cosmetic products: from hand and face creams to perfumes, shower gels, deodorants, shampoos, hair dye, lipstick, nail polish – almost anything you apply to your skin or hair.

Ingredients can be shown:

on the product’s label
on the outer container or carton
in an insert or leaflet inside the package (if the package is too small to include the details on the label)
in a leaflet at the point of sale
on labelling attached to the display unit (if the product is less than 80cm2 and has no outer packaging).

Cosmetics labels must also contain enough information to enable the New Zealand importer, supplier or manufacturer to be contacted in person or by phone.

Why label?

Cosmetic products can contain a bewildering array of chemicals – check out the label on your shampoo bottle some time. Many of these chemicals are used without any evident problems. But others can cause adverse reactions; and for some people, these can be severe (see the case study below).

Safety concerns about the chemicals in cosmetics have seen the European Union (EU) ban over 1300 substances; another 40 were added to the banned list in the last year after the industry was unable to prove these were safe to use. Restrictions have also been imposed on more than 300 other chemicals, which can be used only in limited quantities and usually require a warning label.

Similar rules apply here. Our cosmetics regulations are based on EU standards and need to be updated regularly so that we don’t fall behind. Ingredients labelling brings us into line with the EU. And labelling is necessary, because it lets consumers know what’s in a product and helps them make an informed decision about whether they want to buy it.

Many cosmetic products available here are international brands and they already comply with labelling laws in Europe and in the US. That’s the good news. The bad news is we’ve discovered it’s extremely easy to find products – including well-known brands – that don’t list their ingredients.

Case study: an age-defying reaction

Tala Lewis

Consumer member Mrs Tala Lewis (pictured) recently bought a jar of Olay’s Age Defying Series Eye Gel at The Warehouse, a product she had been using for many years. But she got more than she bargained for. Tala had an allergic reaction to this Chinese-made gel; after one application, she felt a burning sensation and one side of her face and her eye swelled up.

She rang the 0800 number shown on the packaging but couldn’t get through – so she contacted us. We tried the 0800 number too and had the same experience. We then got hold of the manufacturer, Procter and Gamble, to find out more about this product.

Spokesperson Jolie Egan told us “adverse events of this nature are extremely rare”. So what might have been the cause? It’s possible Tala may have had an allergic reaction to imidazolidinyl urea – one of the ingredients in the eye gel. According to the New Zealand Dermatological Society, imidazolidinyl urea is a formaldehyde-releasing preservative used in many cosmetics.

Formaldehyde is a known irritant which can cause the type of reaction Tala experienced. A patch test would be required to check whether she was allergic.

If you have a reaction to any cosmetic product, stop using it immediately – and phone your GP. If patch testing shows you’re allergic to a particular substance, you’ll need to do a close read of the ingredients labels on cosmetics so you can avoid using the substance again.

Cosmetics labels should also have contact details for the company – ideally a freephone – so consumers can ask questions. Procter and Gamble’s Jolie Egan told us it has tested the 0800 number for Kiwi consumers and it is working.

Who's in charge?

Responsibility for cosmetics-labelling rules is split between different agencies. ERMA (the Environmental Risk Management Authority) sets the rules but the Ministry of Health enforces them where it’s necessary to protect public health. However, neither ERMA nor the Ministry is resourced to police the industry and may only become aware of a problem when someone complains.

We don’t think this is good enough. We’d like to see the Ministry of Health resourced to prosecute companies that don’t comply with the rules. Under the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act, penalties for breaching labelling regulations can include a fine of up to $500,000.

Our view

Unlabelled products should be removed from sale immediately. Manufacturers and retailers have had over a year to comply with the labelling laws: there’s no excuse for not doing so.
Tougher enforcement of these rules is needed because, without clear labelling, consumers can’t make an informed decision about whether they want to use a product.
If a cosmetic product is not clearly labelled, don’t buy it. Report it to ERMA or the public health unit of your District Health Board – and let us know too.

More information

Environmental Risk Management Authority: www.ermanz.govt.nz
Contact details for public health units: www.moh.govt.nz