UL Environment Publishes New Research on Assessing Safety of Personal Care Products

MARIETTA, Ga., July 7, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- UL Environment, a business unit of UL (Underwriters Laboratories), today announced UL Environment's newest white paper, based on original research, "Assessing the Safety of Personal Care Products: Comparative Analysis of Health Risk Assessment Frameworks and Recommendations for Best Practices" has just been published, and is available for download in the UL.com library at http://bit.ly/1U9eGc0.

In the white paper, UL proposes a consensus-based set of voluntary risk-based standards designed to go beyond what is required by the existing personal care product regulations. The best practices identified in this paper would form the basis of such risk-based standards.

"The market for personal care products is expanding rapidly. At the same time, with the rapid increase in global access to information, more consumers are actively seeking information on the health impacts of the products they consume," said Angela Griffiths, director of Advisory Services, UL Environment. "This is especially true for the personal care sector, where consumers are becoming increasingly interested in the products they and their families use every day. In light of this growing market and the corresponding demand for safety information by consumers, we see a need to understand and develop a 'best practice' for evaluating personal care product safety." 

Despite the regulations and safety systems in place for cosmetics today, questions remain about the safety of cosmetic ingredients and the standards associated with them. The key message from consumers is that they are confused about ingredient safety. While the white paper addresses some of these questions and issues in the context of their relevance to best practices, the research and the paper focus on the assessment methods themselves, and this paper is not intended to provide a detailed analysis of stakeholder issues or their positions.

UL conducted its research in order to facilitate a path forward for improved personal care product development. This research includes an assessment of views expressed by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and activists, as well as views from safety, stewardship, and sustainability experts from the retail, brand, and chemical supplier communities. It explores various elements of a full safety assessment, including hazard characterization, exposure assessment, dose response, and risk characterization.

To learn more about this research, please download the paper from the UL Library at http://bit.ly/1U9eGc0, or contact [email protected].

About UL Environment
UL Environment works to advance global sustainability, environmental health, and safety by supporting the growth and development of environmentally preferable products, services, and organizations. We help companies achieve their sustainability goals—and help purchasers, specifiers, retailers, governments, and consumers find products they can trust. UL Environment offers environmental claim validations, multi-attribute product certifications, environmental product declarations, indoor air quality certification, product emissions testing, organizational sustainability certification, and consulting. For more information, visit www.ul.com/environment, and connect with us via Twitter, LinkedIn, or Facebook.

About UL                                      
UL is a premier global independent safety science company that has championed progress for more than 120 years. Its nearly 11,000 professionals are guided by the UL mission to promote safe working and living environments for all people. UL uses research and standards to continually advance and meet ever-evolving safety needs. We partner with businesses, manufacturers, trade associations and international regulatory authorities to bring solutions to a more complex global supply chain. For more information about our certification, testing, inspection, advisory and education services, visit http://www.UL.com.

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SOURCE UL Environment

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