Johnson & Johnson Cleans Formaldehyde Out Of Baby Products, Moving To Adult Goods
Washington, D.C. – EWG executive director Heather White said that personal care products giant Johnson & Johnson has taken a major step forward by reformulating about 100 of its baby products to remove a potentially harmful chemical and to reduce levels of a second problematic substance.
“Johnson & Johnson is smart and responsible to listen to its customers, because they are overwhelmingly demanding cleaner products,” White said. “It is showing leadership in the personal care product industry by sending a message to its competitors that it can make effective, popular products with fewer ingredients that may cause serious health problems in people.”
In a statement posted on its website earlier this month, Johnson & Johnson announced that it had met its goal “to remove formaldehyde-releasing preservatives from our baby products and reduce traces of 1,4 dioxane in all of our baby and adult care products, everywhere around the world.” It reformulated popular baby products such as “No More Tears” shampoo without a chemical called quaternium-15, which mixes with water to release small amounts of formaldehyde as a preservative. In 2011, the Obama administration categorized formaldehyde as a known human carcinogen.
