Avon under investor pressure over toxic chemicals

Avon shareholders are mulling a resolution for the company to ditch toxic chemicals used in some of its products. Loopholes in US federal law allows Avon and other beauty operators to put unlimited amounts of chemicals into personal care products with little testing or monitoring of health effects. Making non-toxic cosmetics is good for consumer health and good for business, claims Green Century Funds, a US mutual funds company, which has filed the Avon resolution.

Sarada Tangirala, Grassroots Coordinator with the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, claimed that it is hypocritical “for Avon to sell products made with cancer-causing chemicals, while at the same time spending millions of dollars marketing themselves as a company committed to curing breast cancer”. Consumers, concluded Lucia von Reusner, shareholder advocate for Green Century Capital Management, are realising that many beauty products they trust can contain a significant amount of toxic chemicals. “Avon needs to respond to these concerns and provide customers with the safety and quality they deserve and expect from Avon products.”