Update: On 29th April, the Members of the European Parliament voted on the EU Cosmetics Regulation. Some good news: the proposed exemptions for carcinogenic substances were rejected – but other problematic aspects remain on the table, such as longer deadlines for removing substances newly classified as carcinogenic from cosmetics products. Read more in this press release from the Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL). Next, the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union will discuss the legislative amendments in the so-called trilogue negotiations and reach an agreement.

Important votes on the EU Cosmetics Regulation are coming up in the European Parliament in April.

With its Chemicals Omnibus Package, the European Commission wants to simplify certain chemical regulations in the EU. Alongside other laws, the Cosmetics Regulation might be weakened – at the expense of our health. The proposed amendments to the regulation are currently being debated in the European Parliament, with a vote scheduled for 15^th April in the relevant parliament committees. The plenary vote (when Members of the European Parliament vote) is planned for late April.

If the proposed amendments become law, it would be easier for companies to use carcinogenic chemicals and other problematic substances in cosmetics. This applies not just to makeup, but also to personal care products such as toothpaste, sunscreen, shampoo, or shaving cream – items used by people of all ages and genders.

The Cosmetics Regulation already fails to adequately protect us. Time and again, product tests show that citizens in Europe are still exposed to harmful substances, such as suspected endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), in cosmetic products like lip balms, shampoos, and sunscreen.

There is therefore no justification for weakening the current Cosmetics Regulation – quite the contrary. CHEM Trust, alongside other organisations, has been calling for the major gaps in the law to be closed for several years, especially asking for EDCs to be banned in cosmetics and personal care products.

We are also calling for the regulation to take into account that, in our daily lives, we come into contact with many different chemicals from numerous sources at the same time. This is known as the ‘cocktail effect’.

CHEM Trust and many other civil society organisations have been campaigning for the rejection of the proposed amendments ever since their publication under the Chemicals Omnibus. In October 2025, CHEM Trust’s sister organisation, CHEM Trust Europe, expressed their concerns in a letter to the German Ministers Carsten Schneider, Nina Warke, and Katherina Reiche.

Antonia Reihlen, chemicals policy expert at CHEM Trust Europe, says:

“Harmful chemicals such as carcinogens and substances that damage genes and reproductive systems have no place in cosmetics. Due to direct skin contact, a ban has been in place in the EU for decades, and the planned relaxation is unacceptable and unfounded. Our health would be put at greater risk, and it wouldn’t even lead to significant simplifications for the industry! Instead, authorities would face significantly more work to identify and regulate the specific risks of substances on a case-by-case basis. We expect the European Parliament to reject the relevant proposals and make a clear commitment to health and environmental protection.”

The French environmental organisation Générations Futures has developed a tool that allows EU citizens to write to their representatives and urge them to reject the proposed changes to the Cosmetics Regulation. Read more here.

For more information about reducing your risk of exposure to harmful chemicals in cosmetics, see our webpage.

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