SIC 2844 Perfumes, Cosmetics, and Other Toilet Preparations
SIC 2844
This category includes establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing perfumes, cosmetics, and other toilet preparations. Manufacturers of shampoos, shaving products, personal deodorants, hair preparations, suntan lotions and oils, talcum powders, toothpastes and powders, mouthwashes, and premoistened towelettes are included.
325620
Toilet Preparation Manufacturing
325611
Soap and Other Detergent Manufacturing
The value of shipments in the U.S. toiletries industry reached $30.1 billion in 2005. While many companies in this industry were large, multibillion-dollar operations with a variety of divisions, the majority were smaller operations. Unlike other industries, companies in the cosmetics and toiletries (C&T) industry compete by brand. Since the typical cosmetic product stays on shelves for just four years at most, this creates a unique situation of continual renewal, revival, and innovation. To meet the expectations of consumers, the cosmetics and toiletries industry must remain in sync with rapidly changing fashion trends and preferences.
Traditionally, retail products are classified as upscale, mid-level, or low-scale, depending on where they are sold and their pricing structure. Upscale product lines are typically sold in major department stores or specialty boutiques; mid-level product lines are sold in department stores at lower prices; and low-scale product lines are sold in drug stores, discounters, or through catalogs. In the mid-2000s, one of the fastest-growing segments of this industry was cosmeceuticals, which had $13 billion in 2005 sales in the United States and was expected to grow to $17.2 billion by 2010.
Many participants in the cosmetics, fragrances, and personal care products industry were members of the Cosmetic, Toiletry and Fragrance Association (CTFA). The CTFA, which was founded in 1894, represented manufacturers, distributors, and industry suppliers. It provided scientific, legal, regulatory, and legislative services.
The federal agency most often involved in regulatory encounters with the industry was the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The FDA required that color additives be tested and approved before use. It banned or restricted the use of some specific ingredients, including mercury compounds, chloroform, and methylene chloride. Other regulations dictated that cosmetics contain no poisonous or harmful substances and no filthy, putrid, or decomposed substances; they must also be made and held under sanitary conditions. The FDA also instituted labeling requirements that compelled manufacturers to list cosmetic ingredients in descending order according to the quantity used, with some flexibility allowed for the protection of trade secrets. The FDA also had the authority to take legal action against cosmetic companies if problems developed with the safety of products already on the market. To do so, the agency was required to prove in court that the product was harmful or misbranded.
The FDA, however, did not require the same type of premarket approval for cosmetics as was required for drugs. According to a report published in FDA Consumer, cosmetics were legally defined as "articles other than soap that are applied to the human body for cleansing, beautifying, promoting attractiveness, or altering the appearance." The FDA recognized thirteen categories of cosmetics: skin care products, fragrances, manicure products, eye makeup, makeup other than eye makeup, hair coloring preparations, shampoos and other hair products, deodorants, shaving products, baby products, bath oils and bubble baths, mouthwashes, and sunscreens.
The distinction between cosmetics and drugs was sometimes vague. According to FDA guidelines, products claiming to offer medical benefits or physiological effects were over-the-counter (OTC) drugs. Examples of items with controversial classifications included antiperspirants, which were classified as OTC drugs in the late 1970s, sunscreen products that listed a sun protection factor (SPF) number, hair care products claiming to protect or restore hair, and shampoos professing to cure or remove dandruff. If the FDA deemed a cosmetic product to be an OTC drug, it was regulated as a new drug. The manufacturer was then required to demonstrate product safety and efficacy to gain FDA approval.
Under the sponsorship of CTFA, the cosmetics industry developed the Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR) in the mid-1970s to gather information about ingredient safety and make the information available to manufacturers. Reviews were conducted by a panel of scientific and medical experts. One report claimed that by 1988, 85 percent of the most frequently used 700 cosmetic ingredients had been reviewed, were under review, or were being regulated or studied by other procedures such as the FDA's process of reviewing OTC drugs. Another report claimed that a review performed by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health found that 884 of the 2,983 chemicals used as ingredients in cosmetics were toxic substances. The CTFA refuted the claim and maintained that scientific and medical studies demonstrated the safety of ingredients used within the industry.
The fragrance segment of the industry organized the Research Institute for Fragrance Materials (RIFM) in the mid-1960s to independently test and certify the safety of natural and chemical aromatics. During its first 25 years of operation, the RIFM tested approximately 1,400 different materials. The studies resulted in recommendations to restrict or prohibit about 100 of the ingredients reviewed. In an effort to further cooperation between cosmetic and fragrance manufacturers and the FDA, the regulatory agency instituted a voluntary registration program in which manufacturers participated in monitoring adverse reactions to products.
The use of cosmetics, fragrances, and personal care products can be traced back to human's earliest days. Neanderthal man painted his face with reds, browns, and yellows derived from clay, mud, and arsenic. Bones were used to curl hair. Makeup, tattoos, and adornments conveyed social information.
During the reign of the pharaohs, Egyptian aristocrats wore cones of solidified perfume that would melt under warm temperatures to provide cooling and mask odors. A mineral called hematite was applied as rouge, and faces were painted with white lead. Black kohl encircled eyes. Aloe vera was known as an anti-irritant.
Greek women also painted their faces white and put red circles on their cheeks. Galen, an ancient Greek physician, invented cold cream. The Romans used oil-based perfumes on their bodies and in their baths and fountains, and they applied them to their weapons. In the ninth century, Arabs developed alcohol-based perfumes. Crusaders of the thirteenth century brought fragrances back to Europe from the Far East.
The perfumes developed during the sixteenth century were powders or gelatinous pastes. They could be applied to scented fans or carried in jewelry with fragrance compartments. The ability to create new fragrances by blending ingredients was developed during the seventeenth century in France. Some of the compounding establishments developed in...
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