Please read about and sign a petition against the FDA Globalization Act of 2008. If passed, this legislation would mandate huge annual registration fees (at least $2000) and import fees (at least $10,000), which would greatly affect many existing and new small cosmetic businesses and suppliers (This legislation could cause many small businesses to go out of business. Many companies would not be able to afford the yearly fees. Also the majority of natural ingredients like essential oils, carrier oils, hydrosols, and herbs are grown/made in other countries, which would affect many suppliers). It would also affect consumers who love hand crafted products and who like supporting small businesses (less of a choice of natural and hand crafted cosmetics, and also huge increases in prices since small business companies and suppliers who pay the fees would have to increase prices to stay in business).
This is an issue that I am really concerned with as a long time crafter, a new small business owner, and a supporter of small businesses (many of which are usually family or woman owned or that are usually more ecological and social conscious, or that focus on natural cosmetics). Most of my favorite companies and suppliers are small businesses. Though I support more regulation of the cosmetic industry to increase safety in cosmetics, and support some (but not all) of the proposals in this legislation (like required registration of companies and listing of all ingredients in a product or following good manufacturer practices, which many small companies already do) I do not support the annual fees since they do not take into consideration the situation of or affect it will have on small cosmetic businesses and suppliers, especially the all natural and natural based cosmetic industries.
For more information on the issue or what you can do, check out Indie Beauty’s business blog and forum below (the owner of Indie Beauty Network, Donna Maria, is a well known natural cosmetics author and was a D.C. attorney). Sign their petition on the blog and also write to congress (the House, especially to the representatives on the energy and commerce committee) and tell them what you think! Read Indie Beauty’s forum for in depth discussion of the issue, and viewpoints of cosmetic owners and suppliers.
Indie Business Blog
Indie Business Forum
To read the draft of the proposed law, here is the link to the House’s Energy and Commerce committee.
the House's Energy and Commerce committee, FDA Globalization Act 2008
Thanks for reading, and please support small cosmetic businesses and suppliers!
No comments:
Post a Comment