Personal care products – everything from cosmetics to soaps and shampoos to hair straighteners – are largely unregulated, with far too many containing toxic ingredients that have been linked to cancer, infertility, miscarriage, poor infant and maternal health outcomes, obesity, asthma, and many other serious health concerns. And a combination of racist beauty standards and aggressive target marketing have led young women and femme-identifying people of color to higher rates of use for these harmful products – on top of already being exposed to disproportionate amounts of toxic chemicals.

New York State’s Beauty Justice Act (S.4265/A.6969), also known as the Safe Personal Care and Cosmetics Act, would ban the most dangerous toxic chemicals from the majority of personal care and cosmetic products sold in the state. This would significantly reduce the adverse health impacts of exposure to these toxic chemicals.