Kelly Dobos, a consultant, adjunct professor, and former president of the Society of Cosmetic Chemists, discusses the challenges facing beauty businesses and formulators, and the changes to cosmetic products that could be coming consumers’ way, under developing bans on microplastic use.

Plaintiff Mark Ballotti alleges that 17 of 24 ingredients in Coppertone Pure & Simple SPF 50 Mineral Lotion are neither pure nor simple, “because they are made by mixing with other substances and materials and significantly modified,” in his complaint filed in Illinois’ Northern District.

Revlon settled similar litigation previously, while Bumble & Bumble was hit with a putative class action on 10 November in New York federal court alleging the blind and visually impaired are being denied equal access to its website due to design shortcomings.

Visitors to BB&B’s website were not informed and did not consent to its session replay “spyware,” which tracks how consumers interact with the site, “their mouse movements and clicks, keystrokes, search terms, information inputted into the website, and pages and content viewed,” the plaintiff says.

In a position paper published on 6 October, the UK cosmetics trade group says “free from” claims can sow confusion among consumers, damage trust in brands and the industry, and lead to safe and effective ingredients no longer being used. In many instances, “free from” claims also may violate UK and EU law, according to CTPA.

In her complaint against L’Oreal and other marketers of hair-smoothing products, plaintiff Jenny Mitchell, who was diagnosed with uterine cancer in August 2018, cites an NIH study published in October as “the first epidemiologic evidence of association between use of straightening products and uterine cancer.” She claims the defendants engaged in negligent or fraudulent practices in their marketing and sale of hair-straightening products that they knew posed dangers to users.