PFAS, endocrine disruptors and other substances of concern… consumer products are full of harmful chemicals, according to the BEUC. The organisation of European consumer associations has just published a compilation of the results of tests recently carried out by its members, and is urging the European Commission to act more quickly in its Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability.
The report published by BEUC on 10 October 2023, entitled Ubiquitous but preventable: Harmful chemicals in everyday consumer products, is a compilation of tests carried out between 2017 and 2023 by 12 national consumer associations, based in Austria (Verein für Konsumenteninformation), Belgium (Testachats / Testaankoop), Czechia (dTest), Denmark (Forbrugerrådet Tænk), France (UFC-Que Choisir), Germany (Stiftung Warentest), Italy (Altroconsumo), the Netherlands (Consumentenbond), Slovenia (Zveza Potrošnikov Slovenije – ZPS), Spain (OCU), Sweden (Sveriges Konsumenter), and Switzerland (Fédération Romande des consommateurs – FRC).
The results show that substances of concern have been detected in a large number of consumer products. With regard to cosmetics, BEUC states that:
• PFASs are present in face creams (8 out of 62 studied contained PTFEs)
• substances suspected of having endocrine disrupting properties have been found in children’s products, particularly in cosmetics and sunscreens designed for them (BHA, BHT, Parabns, Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate, Octocrylene, Homosalate)
BEUC also points out that marketplaces play a major role in the sales of cosmetics containing substances of concern.
In its press release, it points out that in 2020 the European Union launched its “Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability” with the aim of eliminating hazardous chemicals from everyday life, but “worryingly with limited …
