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Never in a million years did I imagine lobbyist or political activist would be on my resume. When I learned about Beautycounter a little over two years ago, I made the decision to join based on the mission of the company. I vividly remember reading about the lack of regulation in the personal care product industry and was baffled by it. I started scanning products in my bathroom that I thought were safe and was shocked to see the results. I was a victim of green washing. I was fooled by the terms all natural, dermatologist and pediatrician recommended, and even organic. How are companies allowed to stamp these terms on their labels if the products contain ingredients such as formaldehyde, parabens, fragrance, PEGs, etc. I consider myself a pretty health concious person and felt compelled to share this information with my friends and family.
Here I am, two years later, returning from my second trip to Washington, D.C. to advocate for more heath protective laws in our country. This go round, I felt a bit more seasoned. The first time I attended this trip I was relatively new to Beautycounter and had no idea what to expect. I didn't really know anyone, but met some of the most incredible women who have become some of my most cherished friends. I can’t begin to explain how incredible it is to be apart of a company that puts such a strong emphasis on advocacy and bringing women together to empower each other. I have learned so much about the corruption of the beauty industry as well as the political side. It still boggles my mind that there has not been a major federal law passed in the personal care product industry since 1938. A lot has happened since that time, including the introduction of over 80,000 chemicals into commerce with less than 10% being tested for links to human health issues. Unfortunately, we are the guinea pigs, our children are the guinea pigs, and there children will be unless we can move our mission forward.
On March 4th, 2018, in honor of Beautycounter’s 5th birthday, 100 consultants (2 per state) were invited to Washington, D.C. to meet with senators and members of congress on the need for more health protective laws. After a day filled with training, we spent Monday on Capitol Hill attending over 100 meetings with representatives from all 50 states. We were there to ask the senate to co-sponser the Personal Care Products Safety Act (PCPSA, S.1113) introduced by Senator Feinstein from California and Senator Collins from Maine. We were also there to discuss the safety standard and lack of funding to move this bill forward. This legislation will protect consumers from unsafe ingredients in personal care products. This bill will allow the FDA to assess cosmetics ingredients for safety, regulate cosmetics that are unsafe and have the ability to recall products. Finally, this bill would require companies to label ALL ingredients on the product. On the house side we want them to introduce legislation that will protect consumers from unsafe ingredients in personal care products. It is difficult to comprehend that under current legislation, consumers are not given the information needed to make informed decisions. We do the best we can with the information we have, but unfortunately it is not enough.
Senators were surprised to hear that a company like Beautycounter is able to successfully showcase that reform is good for our health AND business. Beautycounter is pro-commerce and pro-regulation.
The highlight of my trip was chatting with Senator Bernie Senators about the work Beautycounter is doing and why we need his support. The moment was as bit surreal as most of our meetings on the hill took place with staffers. As we were standing outside of Senator Sanders' office waiting for our meeting to take place, I looked up and there is Senator Sanders himself walking down the hall wheeling his suitcase as he just arrived from Burlington, Vermont. I didn't even think but instead just shouted his name and wanted to introduce myself. He asked why we were here and was genuinely interested in listening. This is a bipartisan issue that effects every single person in our country.
There are many ways to get involved and support our mission. I am asking that you please take about 5 minutes today to text betterbeauty to 52886. You will receive a text message back with a link to directly email your local members of congress. The email is already generated for you, please just fill in required information and SEND. The common theme during all 8 meetings was that senators need to hear directly from YOU and that you care about this issue.
On the morning of our meetings 100 women with a bold red lip made a statement. We were there to make our voices heard and tell our stories. Stories of cancer, lack of education and options in many communities, infertility, children with severe allergies, the list goes on. This is not a women issue or about makeup, this is about every single person in our country deserving access to safer products. We have all been directly or indirectly affected by this issue and something needs to change!
