New Jersey-based multinational of health and personal care products Johnson & Johnson (J&J) has pledge to reformulate all its toiletries and cosmetic products worldwide by 2015, with the aim to remove all “chemicals of concern”. Pressured by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, a large coalition of health and environmental groups, the company already said it would reformulate all its baby products by the end of 2013.

We’ve decided to phase-out or reduce certain ingredients that are safe by scientific standards and considered safe by key regulators around the world including the EU, the U.S. and China. We’re doing this because we’re listening to the people who rely on our products, and if they have concerns, we’re committed to addressing them, as long as we can do so safely and effectively. We want to be sure people have peace of mind bringing our products into their homes and caring for themselves and their families. Nothing is more important to us,” explained Susan Nettesheim, Vice President of Product Stewardship & Toxicology for Johnson & Johnson Consumer Companies.

This is a major victory for public health,” said Lisa Archer, director of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics at the Breast Cancer Fund, a co-founder of the campaign. “We applaud Johnson & Johnson for its leadership in committing to remove cancer-causing chemicals from its products. We will be vigilant in making sure it meets its commitments and will continue to encourage it to remove other ingredients of concern. And we call on other cosmetics giants - Avon, Estee Lauder, L’Oreal, Procter & Gamble and Unilever - to meet or beat J&J’s commitments.

In parallel, Johnson & Johnson has launched www.SafetyandCareCommitment.com a new website to help consumers better understand how the company selects and evaluates the ingredients used in its products.

Consumers today expect more information and greater transparency than ever before and we’re always listening to the people who use our products. On this site, we’ll do our best to explain how we make the choices we make, and to show how our plans incorporate consumers’ feedback. We want all consumers to see for themselves how and why every one of our products can be used with peace of mind,” added Susan Nettesheim.