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Why Does Johnson’s Baby Shampoo Use Safer Ingredients In Other Countries?
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Tuesday, November 01, 2011
by Janelle Sorensen, Chief Communications Officer, Healthy Child Healthy World
Over two years ago, the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics released the groundbreaking report, No More Toxic Tub, which revealed that popular kids' bath products – including Johnson's Baby Shampoo – contained chemicals linked to cancer. They promptly asked Johnson & Johnson to reformulate its iconic baby shampoo and specifically to remove the formaldehyde-releasing chemical quaternium-15.
Johnson & Johnson indeed stopped using this risky ingredient, but only in some countries (sadly, not the US). According to the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics:
In July and October 2011, the campaign analyzed the labels of Johnson’s Baby Shampoo sold in 13 countries to see if the products contain quaternium-15, a chemical preservative that kills bacteria by releasing formaldehyde. Formaldehyde was recently listed by the U.S. government as a known human carcinogen. Formaldehyde and quaternium-15 are also potent allergens that can trigger rashes and other skin inflammation problems.
The analysis reveals that Johnson’s Baby Shampoo sold in the United States, Canada, China, Indonesia and Australia contains the formaldehyde preservative quaternium-15, while products sold in the U.K., Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, the Netherlands and Japan contain non-formaldehyde preservatives.
“Clearly there is no need for Johnson & Johnson to continue to expose American, Canadian, and other babies to formaldehyde when it is already using alternatives in other markets. We’re calling on consumers and hospitals to stop buying Johnson’s Baby Shampoo until the company removes quaternium-15 from baby products sold in the U.S., Canada and around the world,” said Lisa Archer, director of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics at the Breast Cancer Fund.
In a surprising turn of events, yesterday, after Johnson & Johnson received word of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics report, the company released a statement saying it is no longer introducing new products with formaldehyde-releasing preservatives.
“We know that some consumers are concerned about formaldehyde, which is why we offer many products without formaldehyde releasing preservatives, and are phasing out these types of preservatives in our baby products worldwide,” said the statement.
Archer commented, “We’re glad to see that the Johnson & Johnson is taking this seriously. This commitment is a big step in the right direction. We look forward to the day when we can tell consumers the company’s entire product line is free of carcinogens and other chemicals of concern.”
Since the original report and after pressure from groups like the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics and the American Nurses Association, the company launched a “natural” version of baby shampoo that does not contain chemicals associated with formaldehyde or 1,4 dioxane; however, the company has yet to reformulate its original Johnson’s Baby Shampoo for the U.S. market.
“While it is encouraging to see that Johnson & Johnson has made progress in formulating a safer ‘natural’ version of its iconic baby shampoo, now is the time for the company to rise to the occasion and make the safer products the world market is demanding for all its customers.” said Archer.
Take action!
- Read the full report, Baby’s Tub Is Still Toxic.
- Tell Johnson & Johnson to commit to going formaldehyde-free in ALL of their products.
- Join the Twitter Party on Thursday, November 3rd at 6pm PST to learn more about the report and the best baby bath and skin care tips.
Photo courtesy Stuart Barr / CC BY 2.0
Posted by Heidi on 11/02/2011 at 09:31 AM
I stopped buying Johnson & Johnson products when I removed my son from his bath and he had a horrific rash covering his face and body after using the lavendar soap. I tossed every single bottle in the trash! Don’t buy Johnson & Johnson products!
Posted by Suzanne on 11/01/2011 at 03:47 PM
Johnson & Johnson really need to take more responsibility for what they put in their products; so many parents are blindly trusting that the JNJ products are safe for their precious children.
Posted by Betsy (Eco-novice) on 11/01/2011 at 02:20 PM
I think it’s really bizarre when companies do this—we saw this same thing with artificial food coloring: two different products (one with safer ingredients, one with cheaper ingredients) for two different markets. I guess it’s useful in demonstrating that companies can find a way to work within stricter regulations, but they won’t do it unless they have to.
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Posted by Carma on 11/05/2011 at 12:29 PM
The E.U (European Union) has far stricter regulations and rules for things like this than the U.S does, hence the reason J&J have different formulas abroad.
Alot of so called ” natural” and ” gentle” baby and children’s products are anything but, as a mother you need to become label savvy and be a compulsive label reader.
http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/