Safe Cosmetics: Why can't all Estee Lauder brands be pink ribbon-worthy?

October is breast cancer awareness month, which allows many companies to seem like champions for women’s health by brandishing pink ribbons, while selling products that contain cancer and other disease-causing chemicals.

Take Estee Lauder, for example. 

Cosmetics giant Estee Lauder owns Origins, Aveda and MAC, among other brands. 

Yet each brand has different standards for protecting consumer’s health, including different ideas about using chemicals in their products that are linked to cancer and other diseases.

In a recent study by Environmental Working Group, 20 teen girls were tested for the presence of cosmetics chemicals in their bodies.  One shocking finding was that two kinds of parabens – cosmetic chemicals that disrupt hormone function – were found in every girl tested. 

The Massachusetts-based Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow, a founding member of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, also found that Estee Lauder brands popular with young women – including MAC and Bumble and Bumble products – contain hormone-disrupting chemicals that can put teens at risk for health problems like breast cancer later in life.

But cosmetics don’t need dangerous chemicals.  Estee Lauder’s “green” brands, Aveda and Origins, are free of parabens and both brands have written commitments to make safer products.

The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics is asking Estee Lauder to make all their products meet the standards set by Aveda and Origins.

To send a message to Estee Lauder, click here.