On April 5, 2024, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) confirmed that its third-party testing of cosmetic talc products for 2023 identified no traces of asbestos in any of the 50 cosmetic samples tested. FDA’s 2023 results, which were reported in a Cosmetics Constituent Update, are consistent with its testing for 2022 and 2021, which also failed to detect asbestos in any of the 50 cosmetic samples tested for those years. Read the full Alert on Duane Morris’ website.
House of Representatives Introduces Ban Water Beads Act
By Paul Rosenlund and Steven Perelman
On November 21, 2023, Representative Robin Kelly (D-IL), Representative Brittany Pettersen (D-CO) and Representative Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), introduced the Ban Water Beads Act (H.R. 6468) to ban water beads marketed towards children. Water beads are super-absorbent polymer chemical spheres sometimes marketed as toys. This legislation would add water bead products to Section 8 of the existing Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA) as a banned hazardous product. Therefore, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) would be directed to enforce a ban on all water beads marketed as a toy, educational material, or art material or art product. Continue reading “House of Representatives Introduces Ban Water Beads Act”
How Will The EU’s AI Legislation Influence the Fashion Industry?
Europe’s strides in AI legislation have reached a historic milestone as the European Parliament greenlights the AI Act, setting a global precedent for comprehensive regulation in artificial intelligence development and use. This landmark legislation not only shapes the future of technology within the European Union but also holds significant implications for various sectors, including the fashion industry. […]
Duane Morris partner Agatha Liu emphasizes the need for fashion brands to adopt a customer-centric approach, prioritizing transparency and providing consumers with comprehensive insights into AI-driven processes. The Act’s focus on eradicating bias underscores the importance of inclusive AI models within the fashion industry.
How Beauty Companies Can Mitigate Risks Associated with AI Technology Use
From L’Oreal and Olay to Procter & Gamble and Shiseido, companies across the beauty industry are embracing AI technology with open arms. But what are the risks of incorporating AI technology into business practices, and how can beauty companies protect themselves? […]
For answers to these questions and a closer look at this rapidly growing segment of the beauty industry, CosmeticsDesign spoke to attorneys Kelly Bonner and Agatha Liu of Duane Morris LLP, for their insights and experience. Kelly Bonner’s practice focuses on litigation risk and regulatory issues affecting businesses in the cosmetics and personal care industries, as well as cross-jurisdictional and complex commercial disputes involving FDA-regulated and consumer-branded products, and Agatha Liu has assisted clients with AI-related legal needs.
Continue reading “How Beauty Companies Can Mitigate Risks Associated with AI Technology Use”
Balancing Innovation and AI Regulations in the Beauty Market
Duane Morris’ Agatha Liu and Kelly Bonner were interviewed by Personal Care Insights about the challenges and opportunities beauty companies face while using AI to appeal to younger consumer demographics. Below is an excerpt of the article.
How does the competitive landscape of the beauty industry impact businesses’ use of AI technologies, especially when it comes to targeting younger consumer segments?
Bonner: The highly competitive nature of the beauty industry, with its desire to appeal to younger consumers, is certainly a key driver in beauty brands embracing AI tools to offer enhanced customer shopping experiences.
Can you provide some context about US AI regulations that the beauty industry should know? What do you expect is coming, especially considering the AI Act in the EU?
Liu: The EU AI Act imposes specific obligations on the providers and deployers of so-called high-risk AI systems, including testing, documentation, transparency and notification duties.
To read the full interview, please visit the Personal Care Insights page.
Beauty Is in the AI of the Beholder
Duane Morris partner Agatha Liu spoke with Personal Care Insights on potential risks, including personalization, appearance bias and regulatory compliance, as beauty companies integrate AI technologies.
What steps do you advise beauty companies to take to reduce the legal risks that could arise from implementing AI?
Liu: Very generally, companies should understand the technology they’re adopting and implementing and balance the benefits of the technology against potential legal pitfalls. That means liaising with outside counsel and privacy teams to obtain clarity and mitigate risks. […]
Read the full interview on the Personal Care Insights website.
2023 Regulatory Roundup: MoCRA
Updated deadlines, the announcement of a newly developed draft submission portal, and the release of several different draft guidance documents are just some of the developments that have occurred this year regarding MoCRA’s implementation of cosmetic safety regulations. As 2023 draws to a close, CosmeticsDesign spoke to attorney Kelly Bonner to review what’s happened so far with the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act (MoCRA) and to understand what’s ahead.
To read the full text of this article, please visit the CosmeticsDesign website.
Retailers’ Clean Beauty Claims Fuel Consumer Doubts and Lawsuits
In the beauty world, a “clean” product brings to mind one or more of the following features: sustainable, nontoxic, ethically made, cruelty-free, or even vegan.
Such broad associations speak to the appeal of “clean beauty” products: They can make consumers—especially climate-conscious Gen Z and millennials—feel like they’re making the better choice for themselves and the planet. The “clean beauty” market, which is forecast to expand to $15.3 billion by 2028, has grown from its roots in luxury and independent brands to take over shelves of products at mass-market retailers like Target.
But companies’ self-imposed definitions of what they consider to be “clean” has led to doubts about industry claims, fueling consumer-led class actions and raising the legal risk for companies trying to capitalize on product demand. While regulators are eyeing potentially misleading environmental advertising—and some beauty brands are even hoping they’ll clarify what’s “clean”—it’s the courts that will likely be the first to decide when use of the trendy term crosses into a type of greenwashing. […]
Still, the risk of regulatory enforcement for “clean” claims is fairly low, and it’s unlikely that the FTC will home in on the term for now, said Kelly Bonner, an attorney at Duane Morris who advises companies on consumer litigation and enforcement risks, including those in the beauty industry.
“I don’t think the FTC is going to focus so much on ideas of ‘clean’ or ‘natural’ given that it hasn’t defined these terms and it’s still unclear as to what these mean,” she said. “It’s more likely that it will get worked out in consumer protection suits and the courts.”
To read the full text of this article, please visit the Bloomberg Law website.
What’s Driving Beauty Brands to Shutter in 2023?
Duane Morris partners Robert Kum and Cyndie Chang are quoted in the Glossy article “The unseen legal turmoil driving beauty brands to shutter in 2023.”
Despite positive projections about the future of the beauty industry, insiders say brands of all sizes are quietly grappling with unseen legal struggles.
[Founders] blamed, in large part, the California Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, better known as Prop 65.
Continue reading “What’s Driving Beauty Brands to Shutter in 2023?”
The Class Action Weekly Wire Podcast talks MoCRA featuring Kelly Bonner
In Episode 35 of the Class Action Weekly Wire podcast, host Jerry Maatman interviews Duane Morris associate Kelly Bonner about the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act (MoCRA). Watch the episode below: