Johnson & Johnson Responds to Criticism
A few days ago I wrote a post about my concern regarding the presence of known carcinogens like formaldehyde and 1,4-dioxane in children’s baby bath products. I sent my post, highlighting my concerns directly to Johnson & Johnson, a giant in the personal care industry and a company that claims to put the safety of children and the environment before profit. This morning, Johnson & Johnson responded, and in the interests of fairness, I want to give their response equal time. So here it is:
Dear Jenn:
Thank you for contacting the Johnson & Johnson Consumer Companies, Inc. Information Center. It is always important to hear from our consumers, and we appreciate the time you have taken to contact us.
For more than 100 years, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Companies, Inc. has been providing parents with safe and effective products for their babies and young children. We value the trust that parents place in us, and we continually strive to maintain that trust by using high-quality standards to test and evaluate every ingredient that goes into our products.
The trace levels of certain compounds found by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics can result from processes that make our products gentle for babies and safe from bacteria growth. The FDA and other government agencies around the world consider these trace levels safe, and all our products meet or exceed the regulatory requirements in every country where they are sold. Experts such as MDs, toxicologists and clinical scientists regularly review the safety data for all ingredients used in our products. In addition, we test our final baby product formulations for safety. Once our products are in the marketplace, we continually monitor consumer experiences and review evolving scientific data.
We are disappointed that the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics has inaccurately characterized the safety of our products, misrepresented the overwhelming consensus of scientists and government agencies that review the safety of ingredients, and unnecessarily alarmed parents.
We want to reassure parents that JOHNSON’S Baby Shampoo and all our baby and kids products are safe, gentle and mild products that they can trust and use with confidence.
Again, thank you for your interest in our company. Should you have any comments or questions in the future, please contact us via our website or by calling our toll-free number, 1-888-638-5242. Our specialists are available Monday through Friday between 8 AM and 5 PM EST and will be happy to assist you.
So there you have it. What do you think?
it’s nice that they would respond to you personally (aside from maybe using too much of their marketing verbiage)… but isn’t it a little like high fructose corn syrup? i know HFCS won’t kill you like a carcinogen will but the idea is the same. sure… you have ‘trace’ amounts but you have some and the other guys have some and some toys have some and pretty soon haven’t we had enough in our daily diets to make it too much? shouldn’t you lead the pack and say i’m helping to reduce your daily intake?
I agree with Octavia, it’s a little disappointed that it is just more defense of the status quo, rather than any indication that they intend to think about the issue further or do anything differently moving forward.
I agree with the comments so far as well. My motto is if I know it’s even the least bit unsafe or harmful for my child than why would I even use it on her delicate skin. The fact of the matter is the information is out there, parents are educated and concerned. They are a large enough company that they should consider changing their formulas. J&J hasn’t heard the end of this that’s for sure.
It would be one thing if there were not alternatives, but there are. Dozens of smaller companies produce chemical free products that get baby clean and keep baby safe.
I find it disappointing that J&J defends itself by relying on the FDA. The FDA can’t get food safety right, and its cosmetic regulation is even more lax. The FDA does not approve cosmetic ingredients before they are used – as fully and completely disclosed on the FDA’s website. The FDA has not even assessed most of the ingredients used in cosmetics for safety. The cosmetic industry panel that reviews most cosmetic ingredients – the Cosmetic Ingredients Review panel (CIR) focuses much more on allergic and irritant type reactions, not long term concerns about endocrine disruption or cancer.
So, yes, the products contain two carcinogens in trace amounts. Yes, the products also contain hormone disrupting phthalates. Yes, we use as many as 7 to 10 products on our children every day – do all those exposures add up to something more?
If there is a concern, why shouldn’t I choose products WITHOUT potentially harmful chemicals? They are readily available on the market. There are products at the same price point at J&J. Plus, those products are not made from non renewable resources as the J&J products are and are packaged in recycled content containers often.
I just feel like J&J thinks people reading this site and the results on their products are just as uneducated as the rest of the nation and we don’t know better. They pretty much gave a bunch of empty hoopla in defense of their product which I am sure 100 years ago didn’t have parabens and other toxic ingredients. Sure they are an older company but they have been bafooning parents with a false sense of security for a very long time.
I agree with the statement about alternatives, there are lots out there but it would cost them more and I am sure at the end of the day their profits matter more than our children’s safety. I also think that anything toxic not matter how small an amount is bad for my child and if mroe people were educated I am sure they would agree.
I have no faith in this company and I give organic nontoxic baby products at showers to show moms out there that there are alternatives to the pink bottle…much better and safer alternatives
Jenn,
Thanks for posting this response, although frankly, if you go back and read your post carefully, you can see they’re avoiding the real issues you raised. They have done the same with me. They’ve got one line which they parrot over and over. “It’s important to stress that all our products are within the FDA limits.” But that’s just the problem. Are the FDA limits appropriate?
Here’s what I asked J&J on April Fools Day:
- What is J&J’s stance on the Kid Safe Chemical Act?
- What does J&J think about the adverse affects of long term exposure to the thousands of chemicals used in personal care products?
- Is this issue even being discussed at the industry level, through groups like the Personal Products Council?
I’m still waiting for an answer.
Lynn
Thank you all so much for your comments! I think we’re all in agreement here….we want these potentially harmful chemicals out of our baby’s bath products. And if Johnson & Johnson isn’t willing to do that, we’ll just buy our stuff from the other companies that are!
Not sure I’m happy I read that. Not sure it does any good to say anything to big power houses as that, but it is good that you did. The word “trace” disturbed me in their response.
I’m not educated on their products, since I just stick with California Baby. I’d have to research more to know what it is that you were questioning.
At face value, it seems to be a bit like BPA in baby bottles…if you know what I mean..
I don’t understand why it’s so hard for companies to make chemical-free products. A large, well-known company like J&J could really set the bar for others if they just made the effort. Imagine what would happen if they did.
This article is one of the reason I became an Independent Consultant for a company called Chartreuse. Chartreuse offers a selective array of products that will help you on your path to going green such as our chic shopping bags, organic personal care products, and hip recycled paper products.
Please go and check out my website…www.chartreuseearth.com. We just came out with a line of organic baby products that do not have ANY chemicals in them and we disclose ALL of our ingredients. I have a 19 month old and I LOVE the products for him (and me!!!). I have not found any baby products that work as well as these.
We just won an ECO Award from Diable Magazine in the San Francisco area. Check out the article http://www.diablomag.com/Diablo-Magazine/April-2009/Diablo-Eco-Awards/.
Please let me know if you have any questions my email is stephanierdoan@gmail.com. I am happy to answer (or try to!) any questions or comments.
Sad. Disappointing. Scary.
I’m not surprised though but I was hopeful for something more.
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I started this company after I experienced the unbelievable difference a homemade batch of all natural lavender soap had on my skin. I’ve had eczema ever since a 5 year old and suffered from rashes throughout my life. Immediately after the first shower with our lavender soap, my skin was exceptionally soft. To me it is a small miracle that that today I do not need to use any other lotions other than sunblock and of course argan oil for anti-aging. My skin used to be extremely dry and it almost hurt after shower if I did not reach out for the lotion bottle right away. All my skin rashes have disappeared since I switched from mainstream commercial synthetic products to our own natural body care products. I spent year and a half researching natural therapies and remedies with my fiancee PhD Chemist. I have learned a lot of things, mostly importantly that when you make soap glycerin happens. We leave the glycerin remain in the soap, and as a result the soap will actually moisturize your skin, not dry it out. Some larger companies remove the naturally occurring glycerin to sell it to the lotion industry to make more money. Honestly, after a while using our type of soap, you can pretty much toss away your lotion bottles. Besides a line of handcrafted specialty soaps, we have formulated an entire line of all natural body care products to further help my condition and others with sensitivities to the synthetic ingredients found in the most mainstream products. So, if you looking for a company with the best of intentions to make the safest products around for your family, shop with us http://www.destinyboutique.com. We do everything we can to make you a customer for life.
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This is quite a hot info. I’ll share it on Twitter.
I think Johnson and Johnson’s products are pretty safe, and I believe the letter they wrote was genuine. I have used their products for years and never had any issues.. nor have I heard about any issues being reported from carcinogens in their bathwash.
-Sylvia
It has been found that there are many natural remedies to help calm the symptoms of eczema. One of the most popular ones is Aloe Vera. Aloe is awesome for the skin and will help you to feel much better.