Statement by Farah K. Ahmed, President and CEO on Congressional Efforts to Finalize Modernization of Cosmetics Regulations Before the Year Ends

WASHINGTON, DC— “As the voice of the fragrance industry, Fragrance Creators stands united with our longstanding partners the Personal Care Products Council, the Consumer Healthcare Products Association, the Independent Beauty Association, the Handcrafted Soap & Cosmetic Guild, the Coalition of Handcrafted Entrepreneurs, and the Professional Beauty Association in our joint efforts to advance legislation that modernizes cosmetics oversight.

As the year nears an end, Fragrance Creators and our allied trades are again calling on Congress to come to a bipartisan, comprehensive, and uniform national framework for cosmetics regulation. The fragrance industry has long been investing in the safety of our ingredients, and we are proud of our safety record. However, we also acknowledge that key statutory provisions authorizing the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) regulation of personal care products have not been updated in over 80 years. Now is the time to update those provisions to create a modern cosmetics regulation framework that advances science, safety, innovation, and consumer confidence. 

Fragrance plays an important role in cosmetics and personal care products; products that nurture skin health and hygiene, empower self-expression and confidence, and deliver generational delight to billions of people every day. We extend our thanks to Congress for their efforts in this area and ask that leadership consider including cosmetics modernization in any end of year spending bill. We will continue to work with legislators, allied trades, and all interested stakeholders to achieve our shared goal of modernization the FDA’s regulatory framework.”

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Fragrance Creators Association is the trade association representing the majority of fragrance manufacturing in North America. We also represent fragrance-related interests along the value chain. Fragrance Creators' 60+ member companies are diverse, including large, medium, and small sized companies that create, manufacture, and use fragrances and scents for home care, personal care, home design, fine fragrance, and industrial and institutional products, as well as those that supply fragrance ingredients, including natural extracts and other raw materials that are used in perfumery and fragrance mixtures. Fragrance Creators established and administers the Congressional Fragrance Caucus, ensuring ongoing dialogue with members of Congress and staff. We are an active participant in IFRA and have a designated representative on the IFRA Board to help ensure the associations’ membership is represented in global discussions and the North American perspective is considered in global fragrance positions and policies. Fragrance Creators also produces The Fragrance Conservatory, the comprehensive digital resource for high-quality information about fragrance—www.fragranceconservatory.com. Learn more about Fragrance Creators at fragrancecreators.org—for people, perfume, and the planet.

Contact: Katie Cross

kcross@fragrancecreators.org