

Getting safer products into the hands of everyone is our mission, and in celebration of Black History Month, we’re honoring the Black community by uplifting through action.
Beautycounter has worked tirelessly to advocate for safer beauty and regulation of the personal-care industry, helping to reduce toxic exposures that disproportionately affect communities of color. This effort recently paid off with the passing of the Modernization of Cosmetics Act, which will allow the FDA to more effectively regulate the industry. These reforms mark the first meaningful change in cosmetics regulation since the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act was signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1938.
In order to pursue safer standards in beauty, we look to the guidance of our Science Advisory Council—and integral to our mission to create a more equitable beauty industry is Dr. Ami Zota. Dr. Zota, a Columbia University Professor, investigates how social-structural factors, such as racism, classism, and sexism, shape beauty product use, environmental chemical exposures, and health inequities in women across the life course.
To further underscore the importance of Black History Month, we’ll be interviewing Dr. Zota about her work and actionable steps that can be taken. Be sure to check back here later in the month for a link to the full video.
And as we continue to push the industry beyond clean—in our aim to create uncompromising beauty for all—we pursue a holistic commitment to equity and inclusion among our diverse community of Associates, Consultants, and consumers.
Unequal exposure, unequal harm
Research[1] shows that Black and Indigenous communities as well as People of Color (BIPOC), experience higher incidences of certain chronic diseases, including diseases associated with harmful chemical exposures. Unfortunately, beauty and personal-care products can be a source of these toxic chemicals. This presents a unique opportunity for prevention. Over the past eight years, Beautycounter has made significant progress toward stronger regulation and systemic change through our product formulations, more responsible sourcing efforts, and advocacy.

Our work, our promise
The Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act was a big step in the right direction for our industry—but our work doesn’t stop there. We also pledge to actively advocate to address racial disparities when it comes to unequal toxic exposures. Thus far, we’ve helped pass two California laws: the Cleaning Products Right to Know Act and the Safer Salon Bill. These bills work to protect vulnerable populations like domestic professionals, hotel workers, and salon professionals, by arming them with information to make safer choices. These professions are dominated by women (often women of color) who are exposed to dangerous chemicals for long periods of time in poorly ventilated areas.[2]
We’ve also held two high-profile Congressional briefings, highlighting the disparate impacts of harmful ingredients on people of color, for Members of Congress and their staff. The briefings were sponsored by leaders of the Congressional Hispanic and Black caucuses. Beautycounter also helped pass two California bills that remove some of the worst offenders from personal-care products as well as promote greater transparency for fragrance ingredients, which can have links to cancer and hormone disruption.
Through Beautycounter’s unmatched safety standards, we provide a broad lineup of safe and effective makeup, skin care, and body-care products. And to ensure our makeup products authentically serve diverse skin tones, we continue to expand our shade range options.
Powered by community
We understand the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion in our Consultant base, which plays a crucial role in achieving our mission of getting safer products into the hands of everyone. To this end, we have implemented various initiatives to support our DEI efforts. One notable example is our Beautycounter BIPOC Leadership Forum, where we collaborate with a group of BIPOC Consultants to develop resources and programs that promote diversity within our Consultant community and help us advance our goal to transform beauty into a positive force for good.
Over at HQ, we work to ensure our HQ employee base represents the diversity of the world around us. One way we foster an inclusive workplace is by celebrating our Associate Resource Groups (ARGs)—and this month, Beautycounter’s Black ARG will host an outing to the Pasadena Black History Parade and Festival.
Actionable steps for change
- Join us February 23 in New York at our Prince Street store for an exploration into the Beauty of Inclusion with Beautycounter’s Sr. Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Jenny Aspinwall, alongside our esteemed local Beautycounter Consultants. RSVP here.
- Advocate for ongoing policy change and mobilize our community in support of clean beauty. Take action by texting BETTERBEAUTY TO 52886 in the U.S. to add your voice in celebration this month.
[1] Zota, Ami, Women of color are disproportionately affected by environmental toxins such as beauty-product-related environmental chemicals. This is independent of socioeconomic status. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28822238
[2] https://www.finance.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Professional%20Beauty%20Association-%202014%20Economic%20Snapshot%20of%20the%20Salon%20Industry.pdf