Activists have renewed their efforts to get Johnson & Johnson to remove potentially cancer-causing chemicals from its baby shampoo by calling for consumers to stop buying its products.
The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics -- an international coalition of health and environmental groups such as the Breast Cancer Fund, Friends of the Earth and Physicians for Social Responsibility -- has spent over two years urging Johnson & Johnson to remove two chemicals from Johnson's Baby Shampoo
products: dioxane (considered a likely carcinogen) and quaternium-15 (a formaldehyde-releasing preservative).
The chemicals remain in baby products sold in the U.S., despite the Johnson & Johnson already having versions of the shampoo available without the chemicals, coalition researchers report.
"Clearly there is no need for Johnson & Johnson to expose babies to a known carcinogen when the company is already making safer alternatives," said Lisa Archer, director of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics.
The coalition sent a letter to Johnson & Johnson this week, urging the company to commit to removing the chemicals by November 15.
Johnson & Johnson issued a response saying that formaldehyde-releasing preservatives are considered safe and are approved by U.S. regulators, and that the company is working to reduce the level of dioxane in its baby products.