Issue 6, 2023

Managing PMT/vPvM substances in consumer products through the concepts of essential-use and functional substitution: a case-study for cosmetics

Abstract

Measures are needed to protect water sources from substances that are mobile, persistent and toxic (PMT) or very persistent and very mobile (vPvM). PMT/vPvM substances are used in a diverse range of applications, including consumer products. The combined application of the essential-use and functional substitution concepts has been proposed to phase out substances of concern and support the transition to safer and more sustainable chemicals, a key goal of the European Commission’s Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability. Here, we first identified the market share of PMT/vPvM containing cosmetic products. We found that 6.4% of cosmetic products available on the European market contain PMT or vPvM substances. PMT/vPvM substances were most often found in hair care products. Based on their high occurrence, the substances Allura red (CAS 25956-17-6), benzophenone-4 (CAS 4065-45-6) and climbazole (CAS 38083-17-9) were selected as case-studies for assessment of their functionality, availability of safer alternatives and essentiality. Following the functional substitution framework, we found that the technical function of Allura red was not necessary for the performance of some cosmetic products, making the use non-essential. For other applications of Allura red, as well as all applications of benzophenone-4 and climbazole, the technical function of the chemical was considered necessary for the performance. Via the alternative’s assessment procedure, which used experimental and in silico data and three different multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) strategies, safer alternatives were identified for all case-study chemicals. All assessed uses of PMT/vPvM substances were thus deemed non-essential and should consequently be phased out.

Graphical abstract: Managing PMT/vPvM substances in consumer products through the concepts of essential-use and functional substitution: a case-study for cosmetics

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
20 1月 2023
Accepted
28 4月 2023
First published
03 5月 2023
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY-NC license

Environ. Sci.: Processes Impacts, 2023,25, 1067-1081

Managing PMT/vPvM substances in consumer products through the concepts of essential-use and functional substitution: a case-study for cosmetics

J. van Dijk, R. Figuière, S. C. Dekker, A. P. van Wezel and I. T. Cousins, Environ. Sci.: Processes Impacts, 2023, 25, 1067 DOI: 10.1039/D3EM00025G

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications, without requesting further permission from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given and it is not used for commercial purposes.

To request permission to reproduce material from this article in a commercial publication, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party commercial publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements