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.
To address this disparate exposure to toxic chemicals in the beauty industry, a nationwide movement has emerged from academic experts, clean beauty business leaders, and environmental justice organization who are all working together to achieve beauty justice. The Beauty Justice Coalition brings together organizations and individuals from across the U.S. who are working on research and policies to advance the beauty justice, providing a forum for sharing ideas and collaborating on campaigns as well as uplifting critical research and other work being done on multiple fronts.