New Cosmetic Product Safety Bill Introduced in U.S. House

Posted By American Med Spa Association, Wednesday, September 18, 2019

A bill just introduced to the U.S. House of Representatives would increase regulation of cosmetics and personal care products if passed. The bill, known as House Resolution 4296 (HR 4296), was introduced by Representative Janice Schakowsky of Illinois on September 12, 2019. It initially has been referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Committee on Education and Labor for consideration.
If passed, HR 4296 would create comprehensive regulations on the manufacture and sale of cosmetics, including cosmetics marketed for professional use only. HR 4296 would require the annual registration of a business responsible for bringing a cosmetic to market, referred to as a “brand owner.” In addition to the registration requirement, brand owners also would need to provide to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) a list of all ingredients contained in the product, as well as:
The ingredient lists also would need to be listed in full on both the product label and the brand owner’s website. HR 4296 would require FDA to develop lists of products and ingredients that it has determined to be safe, ingredients that require additional safety assessments and prohibited ingredient.
It is not clear how HR 4296 would affect so called “private label” cosmetic lines, as the definition of “brand owner” is broad enough to include them. However, HR 4296 does exempt “microbusinesses”—those that have annual cosmetic sales under $1 million—from many of the registration requirements. The bill is broad in scope and covers many aspects of the manufacture, testing, marketing and disclosures that surround cosmetics.
HR 4296 is still very early in the legislative process. It is currently being considered by two committees, so there is no way to know at this point how likely it is to pass the House, or if it would pass in its current form. If you may be impacted by HR 4296 or are generally interested in the area, the entire bill may be read here.