At the top of every page of our website is the statement: The only international non-profit trade association promoting the benefits of handcrafted soaps and giving a voice to the handcrafted soapmaker. I am proud of the fact that we have, as of this writing, 967 members whose membership dues have made it possible for us to grow to the point where your voice is now being heard in the hallowed halls of Washington DC.
Donna Maria Coles Johnson of the Indie Beauty Network and I just completed and sent a joint letter to the Energy and Commerce Committee clearly stating and documenting our joint position on the FDA Globalization Act of 2008.
In summary, we requested be draft be amended to include an exemption from all the regulations proposed in the FDA Globalization Act of 2008 for any “micro cosmetic business” that:
- Has less than $2 Million in annual cosmetic sales AND
- Uses ingredients that are
- generally recognized as safe,
- flavor,
- fragrance or
- approved color additives.
You can read the entire letter to familiarize yourself with the position taken and the arguments in support of it.
There are several people who directly assisted in the development of the position we’ve taken, supplied data and persuasive arguments, proofreading and moral support. I’d particularly like to thank Donna Maria Coles Johnson of the Indie Beauty Network for her hard work, dedication and willingness to join forces to give more weight to our joint words. Our corporate members, Debbie May of Wholesale Supplies Plus and Dennis and Kayla Fioravanti of Essential Wholesale made invaluable contributions, as did HSMG Member Anne-Marie Faiola of Brambleberry. IBN members Jamila White, Lela Barker, Erdele Greene, and Pennie Mills also deserve special mention.
Of special note are the contributions of the HSMG Vice President, Leigh O’Donnell, who provided valuable insight, excellent proofreading and suggestions that improved the overall flow of the document … and this while negotiating the contract for our 2010 conference site, managing the last few days of early-bird conference registrations AND taking her kids trick-or-treating!
We are hopeful that our letter will bring our legislators a greater understanding of the micro cosmetic industry and positively affect the final wording of the bill that will ultimately presented to Congress in 2009. As I have any further information about the draft legislation, I will let you know.
Marie Gale, President HSMG
2 Comments on “Your voice being heard”
Marie and Leigh, thanks hardly is enough response to all the work and hours you have put into the IBN and HSMG Response to the pending legislation. I read your letter all the way through this morning and you really made our case in such a through manner. I took some notes of what really impressed me: “Micro cosmetic business owners are nimbler and efficient; ours is a level playing field encouraging entrepreneurship and innovation; emphasis on our ability and determination to offer safe products; the evaporation of price point options with the passage of this law”. Throughout your document I heard over and over the emphasis on the fact that soapmakers already use products that are considered safe for use. Well, I just wanted to say thanks for your monumental effort in speaking on our behalf.
Cathleen
HSMG Membership
Thank you for taking a strong leadership role in this important issue. This is exactly why we need industry groups such as HSMG to help watch out for the little guy and make sure that our position is clearly understood and heard.