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Johnson and Johnson Baby Shampoo Johnson and Johnson Baby Shampoo

Formaldehyde use prompts boycott of baby shampoo

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Johnson and Johnson Baby Shampoo Johnson and Johnson Baby Shampoo

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Date: Mon. Nov. 7 2011 6:45 PM ET

A consumer advocacy group is taking aim at Johnson & Johnson for failing to remove a cancer-causing chemical from its baby shampoo two years after it was first pressured to do so.

The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics says laboratory testing shows the manufacturing giant is still including the formaldehyde-releasing preservative quaternium-15 in its flagship Baby Shampoo product sold in the U.S., Canada, China, Indonesia and Australia.

Quaternium-15 releases tiny amounts of formaldehyde as a bacteria-fighting preservative. Formaldehyde is considered a carcinogen in large doses but is legally acceptable as an ingredient in the U.S., in small doses.

In Denmark, Finland, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, South Africa, Sweden and the U.K., quaternium-15 has been replaced with non-formaldehyde preservatives.

Because of this "double standard" the organization is calling for parents to boycott the product.

"In light of the new information that Johnson & Johnson is already successfully using non-formaldehyde preservatives in other baby products and in other countries, the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics and allies are urging the public to express their concerns to the company and to not buy Johnson and Johnson products," says a report from the consumer group.

The report points out that Johnson & Johnson has introduced a "natural" version of the shampoo that does not contain any chemicals linked to formaldehyde.

"However, the original Johnson's Baby Shampoo, which is priced at about one-half the cost of the new 'natural' shampoo, has not been reformulated in the U.S. or other markets," the report states.

The report states that formaldehyde was recently added to the U.S. government list of known human carcinogens by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Johnson & Johnson recently announced it will slowly start phasing out the use of preservatives that release small amounts of formaldehyde to "guard against bacterial contamination."

The company says in a statement that "These preservative technologies, which are used widely in our industry are all safe and approved in the countries where they are sold. Going beyond safety alone, to meet the changing needs and expectations of parents, we are no longer introducing new baby products that contain these types of preservatives."

Comments are now closed for this story

Patty60
said

Is it impossible to expect a corporation, when developing a product, to take into account the dangers to the consumer, especially babies. Why has the corporate world lost their moral compass?


Erin
said

This product was used on us when we were little and we are fine.


G
said

Bad corporate behavior.. what again??? I think it is high time that we start asking not how much we can make selling a product vs. should we actually make that product? (same goes for ingredients/ formulations/ environmental impacts/ etc.) Corporate greed is out of control. Shareholders are so far removed from the board of directors and they in turn are far removed from the day to day decisions affecting customers. They need to be re-connected. Maybe the board's role should be expanded to include review of new-product decisions (environmental and human impacts). I can't think of a majority of shareholders agreeing to the kind of downstream impacts that have been hidden from them and occurring regularly. Shareholders are people too (mothers, fathers, grandparents). Occupy corporate change... somthing needs to change!


mark
said

Missmae, Regarding Mcdonalds, watch the movie Food Inc. You can see huge slabs of beef soaked in Ammonia. How do you think the meat gets from the central depot to all the Mcdonalds locations without going bad. Food Inc is a disturbing yet fascinating movie about our food chain 70 years ago up to today. Also look on you tube, there is a video showing a Mcdonalds Hamburger 6 months old that has not decayed or rotted out., I wonder why? Formaldehyde in kids shampoo is dangerous and it is also used in some vaccines as a preservative. Research it and draw your own conclusions.


Rich#
said

Most shampoos get mold in them soon after the bottle is opened. I'm allergic to even small amounts of mold. So if J&J removes the quaternium-15 I'll have to switch brands. (Switching to J&J Baby shampoo solved a long-standing problem I had with my scalp)

I've not seen any study associate the amount of formaldehyde you get from quaternium-15 with cancer. I suspect this is all made-up paranoia stuff engineered to make "The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics" lots of money.

Can anyone cite a peer-reviewed study to prove me wrong?


missmae
said

Mark... where is your proof about McDonalds? You people talk about fear. Fear is spread through rumours and lack of education. If you don't know, don't spread what you think might be true from someone who told you who heard it from someone , who's friends with someone who read it on Facebook. I think a company like J&J should be ashamed of themselves for not removing that chemical years ago. I would be pretty upset. I'm glad I don't, and never used that product on my kids heads. Most parents assume products listed as kid friendly are actually that. They should be!


Dave, Ottawa
said

Unless you are DRINKING several bottles of baby shampoo a day, I don't think you have much to worry about.


URU
said

So what if you're kids turns out to be a little off. What corporation now a days make 100% safe products. Remember its all about their profits how much they can sell to ruin the consumer lives so you're hooked on their products. If you buy and trust those corporations on what they say than you're in for a ride.


Diane
said

Wal-Mart's "Equate Baby Shampoo" has this chemical in their shampoo.


Dave
said

I have been using baby shampoo for years and I never contracted cancer but that the eye which grew in the middle of my forehead is kinda different. This sounds a little like fear mongering to me. Small doses cause cancer ? Where is the evidence before we all freak out? Lots of things we drink and breathe in are carcinogenic yet the small amounts are negligible.


drNdrfn
said

quaternium-15 is also listed in the "baby life" brand baby shampoo. We are a chemically addicted world and we are the guinea pigs. The real issue is what happens to us "cattle fodder" when we absorb trace amounts of thousands of different substances (and their complex chemical interactions) over a life span. Another example of how "the real world" doesn't work. Pity!!


Mark
said

Absolute utter shame on Johnson putting Formaldehyde (Cancer causing) on babies heads and bodies, or for that matter anyones head. My wife and I just threw out all of their products and will never buy any of their products again and will be going with Green alternative products. This is just as bad as Mcdonalds soaking their meat in Ammonium (cancer causing) and other dangerous "preservatives" to kill e coli. Best thing people can do is go Organic wherever possible and even then carefully read all labels. No wonder Cancer rates and other disease rates are at an all time high.


Lucy
said

..another example of "customers be damned"please tell me HOW we are to purchase items that are SAFE to use; isn't the government supposed to represent us and keep us safe (yeah, I know, that's a big HA HA)I'm fed up!


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