Women's Group Putting Cosmetics On Trial

A group of young women in Waterville say they're concerned about what's actually in their personal care products, and now they're asking a lab in portland to help them find out.

They say they're searching for the truth behind the label. They gathered outside the post office in Waterville on Sunday set to ship out their shampoos and lotions to find out whether they're harmful or not. Anne Sheldon is a community organizer for the Maine Women's Policy Center and she organized the event. "A lot of products and consumer goods that we use everyday," says Sheldon, "our personal care products, have toxins linked to infertility, breast cancer, and other harmful impacts on our health so as young women we've kind of come together to raise awareness about this issue."

Young women from the Maine Woman's Policy Center, Unity and Colby College, and Waterville High School were on hand to. Their goal is to see stricter government regulations on these products. "These are products that that we use everyday," says Sheldon, "our shampoo our deodorant our lotion and we'll be shipping them out to a lab to be tested for the chemicals and the toxins that aren't on the back of the bottle."

Tess Cleary, a Junior at Unity College, says she's looking forward to getting the results from the lab. "I hope to be pleasantly surprised in finding that thay're not as bad as I might think they are."

The folks here say they've sent in a variety of products for testing. "We're trying to get a range of your every day standard ones that claim to be all natural or organic, men's and women's," says Cleary.

"This is not the kind of issue you can shop your way out of," says Sheldon, "if you're buying all natural ingredients there's no accountability or regulation of those ingredients."

They hope to have the results back in around 10 days. The Maine Women's Policy Center says they'll unveil their findings to the public at an event in waterville sometime in April.

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I wonder about the harmful effects and toxins females may have from having tattoos printed over their butts. As well as piecing their faces,noses,lips, and shall we say 'quasi -private areas' . I guess that would not be as chic to protest and bring public awareness to like protesting a mega coporation. 'Down with the man'! Wahoooo!

By the way Maine females, The tattoo fad ended 10 years ago in the rest of the country, looks like many Maine females have not got the memo.

I think you missed the point "Reader of Boston." While you may personally have a grudge against tatoos and piercings - very few of the genral population actually have them. While there may be adverse health risks to the dyes and metals those negative health effects are dwarfed in comparison to the health risks incured by the use of everyday products such as shampoo, deodorant, soap, and hand sanitizers, etc. Those products, which people use every day, are absorbed through the skin and contain chemicals which are known to cause cancer, sterility, developmental and birth deffects. However the companies that manufacture these products are under no legal obligation to disclose what they put into them. So you, your family and friends are consequently absorbing and exposing yourself everyday to these chemicals which is what these women are protesting. I think this is an issue we can all rally behind - safer products that we can all use. So "Man up!" Reader of Boston and advocate for real change on a real issue instead of insulting others around you. Thank you Women of Maine!

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Reader of Boston MA 02/22/2010 06:49 am

02/22/2010 02:26 pm