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A study by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Cooperative Institute for Research In Environmental Sciences (CIRES) found that emissions from personal care products commuters use before leaving in the morning were roughly equivalent in magnitude to emissions from the tailpipes of their cars.

Target partnered with product-rating website GoodGuide to develop a new Sustainability Product Standard for household cleaning, personal care & beauty, and baby care items. Products will be assessed according to chemicals used, transparency, packaging, environmental impact, and animal testing.

CEH filed lawsuits against four personal care product manufacturers after it found evidence of a toxic substance, cocamide Diethanolamine (cocamide DEA) in their shampoos, soaps and other personal care products. The nonprofit firm also sent letters to approximately 100 firms whose products also tested positive.

It started as a dialogue about "ingredients of concern" in cosmetics and other personal care products, orchestrated by rival retailers Target and Walmart. Three years later, that ongoing conversation - facilitated by the Sustainability Consortium and Forum for the Future, and representing 18 industry stakeholders - has produced an ambitious series of recommendations that guide principles of sustainability for this class of consumer goods and how these metrics should be disclosed.

Over 125 cosmetics and personal care products from 14 brands such as Beautycounter, Rejuva MInerals, and MyChelle Dermaceuticals have earned the Environmental Working Group (EWG)'s new verification. The EWG VERIFIED™ program aims to help customers quickly and easily identify products that meet strict ingredient standards and are "produced with the best manufacturing practices."

Household and personal care company Seventh Generation launched its Energy Smart laundry and dishwasher detergent product line, which is designed to give the same performance in all water temperatures so consumers can use low energy settings on their appliances. The products will be exclusive to Target's "Made to Matter" line.

Environmental health non-profit Environmental Working Group launched a verification standard to help consumers identify personal care products and cosmetics that avoid the use of toxic and potentially harmful chemicals.

Last month we announced a major step forward with respect to "free-from" products: We will remove parabens, phthalates and the most prevalent formaldehyde donors (preservative ingredients that can release formaldehyde over time) across nearly 600 of our beauty and personal care products from our CVS Health, Beauty 360, Essence of Beauty and Blade store brands.

Microbeads are bad news, but fortunately most of us know that by now. There has been growing resistance to the miniscule pieces of plastic, added to personal care products for their ability to exfoliate skin, or sometimes just to look pretty in a see-through bottle. These microbeads, however, wreak environmental havoc as soon as they're washed down the drain. The outcome is described here by campaign group 'Beat the Microbead':

Greenpeace ranked the world's 30 largest cosmetic and personal care brands according to the strength of their commitments to eliminate microbeads from their products. Companies among the top-3 included Beiersdorf (joint first), Colgate-Palmolive (joint first), L Brands (joint first), Henkel (joint first), Clarins (joint second), Unilever (joint second), Reckitt Benckiser (joint third), L'Oréal Groupe (joint third), and others.

Greenpeace has launched another massive campaign, this time demanding Procter & Gamble end its role in rainforest destruction through its careless sourcing of palm oil. A yearlong investigation into "P&G's Dirty Secret" shows the maker of dozens of everyday household and personal care products is sourcing palm oil from companies connected to substantial clearance of endangered orangutan habitat in Indonesia

Twenty-four out of 30 top companies in the packaged food, fast food and personal care industries have inadequate commitments or lack commitments altogether for sourcing sustainable palm oil for their products, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS).

Imagine a toothpaste tube that may be fully recyclable. That possibility is laid out in a series of sustainability commitments personal care products maker Colgate-Palmolive made to environmental nonprofit As You Sow.

Walmart and Target have teamed up to improve sustainability in the personal care and beauty industry.

After prioritizing their own strategies for years, the giant retailers are advocating industry-driven leadership group for sustainable cosmetics and personal care products. 

Personal care products containing microbeads will be banned from Canada beginning Jan. 1. A statement from Environmental Defence Canada lauds the ban and sees it as a proactive move, as other nations around the world consider similar regulations.