From The Winter 2005 Issue of Natural Grocery Buyer

Preservatives Proving Unpopular

Companies scramble to remove parabens in body care products

Mitchell Clute

For years, natural products manufacturers and consumers have looked for healthier alternatives to parabens—petroleum-based preservatives that have been used in cosmetics and personal care products since the 1920s. “Preservatives in general are a red flag for natural products consumers,” says Tim Schaeffer, brand manager for Petaluma, Calif.-based Avalon Natural Products. “We’ve been trying to get them out of products since the inception of the company, but it’s a hard thing to do.”

Paraben primer
There are six primary types of parabens—methyl, ethyl, butyl, propyl, benzyl and isobutyl—and often two or more are combined to help maintain product freshness and combat bacterial growth. They are effective and inexpensive for manufacturers and, until recently, there was little hard evidence that they posed a specific risk to consumers.

Then, in early 2004, a study published in the Journal of Applied Toxicology described high concentrations of parabens (particularly methyl paraben) in breast tumors, suggesting a link between paraben use and breast cancer. “The researchers found whole parabens, not metabolites, in the breast cancer tissue,” says Jeanne Rizzo, R.N., executive director for the Breast Cancer Fund, a national organization based in San Francisco. The Breast Cancer Fund has lobbied for manufacturers to remove parabens and other potentially toxic substances from their products (see sidebar on phthalates) through its Campaign for Safe Cosmetics.

Parabens are known to be endocrine disruptors, which mimic estrogen in the body, and high levels of exposure to estrogens have long been linked to increased risk of breast cancer. But until this recent study, parabens hadn’t been specifically linked to cancer. “When you start seeing parabens in breast tissue, you know they got there through absorption,” Rizzo says. Underarm deodorant is a likely culprit, but shampoos, conditioners, lotions and many other products also contain parabens.

Cleaning house
Several natural products companies had already begun the search for softer, gentler preservatives to replace parabens, and the study’s publication spurred them to speed up the process. Two companies that have already replaced parabens in the majority of their product lines are Avalon and Jason Natural Products of Culver City, Calif.

Using the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s list of acceptable ingredients in organic products, Jason has begun to use grapefruit seed extract, sodium benzoate, potassium sorbate and benzyl alcohol in place of parabens. “It’s been difficult to get the extended shelf life that parabens offer, but the new preservatives are safer,” says Angella Green, associate brand manager for Jason. “We started a year and a half ago, and now more than 80 percent of the 300 products in our line are paraben-free.”

Jason’s acquisition by the Hain Celestial Group has given the company greater penetration in mainstream supermarkets, and its most popular products have already been reformulated with the new preservative system. “It’s a difficult and expensive process for any personal care manufacturer, but it’s worth it to assure that our products are completely safe for the consumer,” Green says.

“As little as a year ago, we didn’t have a choice to use other preservatives, because of the nature of personal care products,” Avalon’s Schaeffer says. “Think of a facial cream, for example. You put your finger in it every day and then leave it at room temperature in a moist bathroom. Personal care products have a rough life, so they have to contain some type of preservative to inhibit microbial contamination.”

According to 2000 FDA statistics, 89 percent of the 10,500 ingredients used in personal care products have not been evaluated for safety by the Food and Drug Administration, the industry-appointed Cosmetic Ingredient Review panel, or anyone else. In fact, according to a recent report released by the Environmental Working Group, one of every 100 products on the market—shampoos, lotions, make-up foundations, and lip balms—contain ingredients certified by government authorities as known or probable human carcinogens. At the same time that untested chemicals have been steadily introduced into our environment, breast cancer incidence has dramatically risen. In the 1940s, a woman’s lifetime risk was 1 in 22; last year it was 1 in 8. Today, it is 1 in 7. In recent years, an expanding body of evidence has linked the pollutants and man-made chemicals in our environment to breast cancer and other diseases. Source: The Breast Cancer Fund

Avalon also began by reformulating its most popular products, including shampoos, conditioners, bath gels and deodorants. The company predicts its products will be entirely paraben-free by mid-2005. Schaeffer says it’s particularly difficult to preserve lipid-rich formulations, such as conditioners and lotions, because their high oil content makes them more prone to spoilage. Avalon is patenting its preservation process, a modular system blending commonly used vegetable-derived ingredients with a synergistic effect against microbial contamination. “The new system has performance on par with parabens, including a three-year shelf life, and comes from natural materials,” Schaeffer says.

Other manufacturers, including Burt’s Bees of Durham, N.C., and Kiss My Face of Gardiner, N.Y., also offer paraben-free products.

Research, support
Because of the high-profile press coverage surrounding the Journal of Applied Toxicology’s paraben study, questions about the link between parabens and breast cancer are the ones retailers are most likely to hear. However, in some users, parabens can cause contact dermatitis, leading to eczema and other skin conditions. Often, sensitivity to contact irritants, including parabens, doesn’t happen immediately, meaning that consumers may begin to experience allergic symptoms after years of using paraben-containing products without incident.

“Consumers need to support those companies that are really going the extra mile,” says Rizzo. “Obviously, we need more research on the link between parabens and breast cancer, but we should take a precautionary approach.” And retailers can help consumers make safe choices by guiding them to paraben-free products on their shelves.

Sidebars:
The Problem with Phthalates

Mitchell Clute is a free-lance writer, poet and musician in Paonia, Colo.