Please take a few moments and read the following link. It says everything I would so that is why I have copied this post from Andrea Kane at the Organinc Beauty Blog. I know it's long but the subject is very important if you support hand-made beauty products.
Please sign the petition at: www.indiebusinessblog.com
Thanks.
The FDA Globalization Act and why the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics is full of hooey
I've waited a bit to write about the new FDA Globalization Act and how it will effect the beauty industry and us, the end consumer. I write every day about companies who may not use the best ingredients or have manufacturing practices that I don't agree with. At the end of the day, I live in America and I believe in the objective right of people to be able to choose. That's why I live in America, instead of say... China. And in many ways, my thoughts about what the government should or should not do, have altered. Greatly. I have been wrong in thinking the FDA or any government agency SHOULD do anything. For my belated lack of understanding, I apologize.
Unlike most of my posts, I will make this one concise. While the actions of companies like Dr. Bronner's and their frivolous lawsuits have probably brought this issues more light than it warranted, the main issue is this: the American government was not created to obstruct the ability of man to create or trade. One should not have to ask permission to make a lawful living. Free men don't ask permission; slaves ask for permission. And by the way, big beauty and their corporations, such as Estee Lauder, were mostly created by women. Women who were sitting in their kitchens with nothing but an idea. This FDA Globalization Act would essentially strip away what these women and many others like them, have created.
The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics would have you believe that you need to be protected by the nanny state. That you are not capable, if you're truly interested, in discerning the safety of a beauty product. Allowing the FDA and its minions to take away your basic right to think and act on your own should not be sacrificed. As Benjamin Franklin stated, "Those who give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."
The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics have demonized big beauty companies like L'oreal, Estee Lauder, Avon, et al because they have refused to sign their petition. In hindsight, I believe big beauty was correct in not signing it. They, more than anyone, understand that when you give a little, you end up giving a lot. While I would love for the world and the products in it, to have less chemicals, as I've written before, that's impossible unless we live in a bubble. But it's a personal choice to choose. Do I next want the government telling me what color I should wear or whom I should marry? Oh, wait. They're already trying to do that, too.
If you think the FDA protects, I would have you ask the families of those who died during the recent salmonella outbreak their opinions on the ability of a government agency, inundated with minutiae, to protect and keep us safe.
For this basic reason, I urge you to not allow this Act to go through. If you want to pay more money and have very little choice, you can do nothing. Put your makeup on, spritz your hair and hope someone else fights for your basic rights. But every little piece of freedom that's chipped away eventually ends up bigger than we would want.
Donna Maria is going to Washington NEXT WEEK. Send her with your name and let the government know you don't need a nanny
