WASHINGTON – Today Johnson & Johnson, one of the largest multinational manufacturers of consumer packaged goods, announced a new transparency initiative that will provide additional details on fragrance chemicals used in its Johnson’s baby products.
“We applaud Johnson & Johnson’s move to greater transparency in the personal care product market,” said EWG President Ken Cook. “The industry giant is raising the bar for other companies to disclose chemical ingredients on labels and online, especially for products marketed for babies and children.”
Federal regulations allow companies to use the word “fragrance” on personal care product labels to hide the identity of multiple chemicals used in mixtures, including ingredients linked to allergies and other health effects. For the most part, personal care product companies and fragrance manufacturers have resisted calls for disclosure, and fragrance has remained a black box for hundreds of chemicals in thousands of everyday products.
Johnson & Johnson joins other industry leaders to build consumer confidence in product safety and promote awareness of fragrance chemicals.
“Fragrance chemicals are ubiquitous and end up in the bodies of every person who uses personal care products, including babies,” said Nneka Leiba, director of EWG’s healthy living science program. “Johnson & Johnson’s commitment to transparency will give consumers access to more information about the chemicals in the products they use every day.”
Johnson's will list fragrance ingredients that are present in products at concentrations of 0.01 percent or greater, on the products’ webpages. They will also disclose online the fragrance palette used for the Johnson’s baby product line.
For more than a decade, EWG has urged the personal care industry to disclose ingredients used in consumer products. Tens of millions of consumers consult EWG’s online databases to learn more about the chemicals used in personal care products, cleaning products, groceries and processed foods, and produce.
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EWG is a nonprofit research and advocacy organization that empowers people to live healthier lives in a healthier environment.
