Bucknackt's Sordid Tawdry Blog: OCTOBER IS BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH, DOES REVLON CARE? 25OKT13

25 October 2013

OCTOBER IS BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH, DOES REVLON CARE? 25OKT13

While Revlon uses pink during Breast Cancer Awareness Month, their cosmetics products actually contain chemicals that cause cancer and other diseases. Tell Revlon: take toxic chemicals out of our cosmetics!

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No one wants to do anything to increase their risk of breast cancer, especially while doing something as typical as putting on lipstick or eyeshadow.

But Revlon cosmetics--used by millions of women around the world--refuses to remove cancer-causing chemicals from its products.¹

Revlon has taken this stand even though competitors like Cover Girl, Neutrogena, and Clean & Clear banned the dangerous chemicals.² Instead of doing the same, Revlon is pumping money into a big breast cancer awareness campaign called "Revlon Cares."³

The 1 in 8 women who will develop breast cancer this year deserve better.⁴

If Revlon really cares about women, it will stop putting cancer-causing chemicals in our makeup.

We know customer pressure pushed the other makeup companies to create safer products. So if we put that same pressure on Revlon during Breast Cancer Awareness month, the company will be forced to take action or risk ruining its image. And we'll be taking real action toward saving lives.

Can you sign this petition demanding Revlon stop using cancer-causing chemicals?

While Revlon stubbornly holds out, the rest of the cosmetics industry is moving ahead. In just the past two years, Johnson & Johnson and Procter & Gamble (makers of leading brands like Aveeno, Johnson's baby products, Ivory, Herbal Essences, and Pantene) agreed to re-formulate their products to remove certain toxic chemicals.⁵ Walmart and Target followed by taking steps to help keep dangerous chemicals off their shelves.⁶ Together, these four companies took positive steps to ensure our safety.

Corporations aren't the only ones taking action. Congress and the European Union all but banned phthalates in children's toys years ago.⁷ Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) was banned by the EU and is listed as a carcinogen by the Department of Health and Human Services and State of California, since it causes cancers of the endocrine system, asthma, and reproductive diseases.⁸ The list goes on. These chemicals don't belong on our skin and hair.

Yet Revlon refuses to join them, all while marketing themselves as a corporation doing all they can to fight breast cancer. But when 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer, we know awareness and pink ribbons only get us so far--we need socially responsible corporations to step up and prevent cancer and other serious health conditions.⁹ Breast Cancer Awareness Month is an opportunity for Revlon to join the rest of the industry and help eliminate breast cancer. Will they take it?

Join UltraViolet, the Breast Cancer Fund and the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics to tell Revlon: be part of the solution. Put the health of women and their families first. Remove toxic chemicals from your cosmetics.

Thanks for all you do,

Nita, Shaunna, Kat, Karin, Malinda, Adam, and Gabriela, the UltraViolet team

Sources:

1. Ingredients Used by Revlon Consumer Products Corporation, Environmental Working Group, October 17, 2013.

Women's consumer advocates take on cosmetics industry, San Jose Mercury News, October 8, 2013.

2. Johnson & Johnson to Remove Formaldehyde From Products, New York Times, August 15, 2012.

Procter & Gamble adjusting product ingredients amid concerns, WCPO Cincinnati, September 7, 2013.

3. RevlonCares.com, Revlon Corporation, October 17th, 2013.

4. Breast Cancer Risk in American Women, National Cancer Institute, October 17, 2013.

5. Ibid.

6. Walmart To Ban Toxic Chemicals From Some Products, The Huffington Post, September 12, 2013.