Reckitt Benckiser Expands Ingredient Disclosure

Reckitt Benckiser U.S. (RB), owner of brands such as Veet and Clearasil, announced it is expanding its ingredient disclosure program to include the 26 recognized fragrance allergens for all of its U.S. products. RB has enabled U.S. consumers to see product ingredients for more than three years, and now, fragrance allergens will be listed starting in early 2014 while triclosan will be removed from all U.S. products by the end of 2014.

"Increased transparency and disclosure are key components of RB's betterbusiness strategy and we believe this is the right thing to do for U.S. consumers," explains Alexander Lacik, president, North America, for RB. "For over 10 years, we've actively reviewed our ingredient portfolio and have taken a proactive stance on disclosure, reduction and removal of chemicals of emerging concern."

The inclusion of fragrance allergens addresses the need for consumers with fragrance allergies to know what's in the products they use. Information will be made available on RB's U.S. ingredient disclosure website. Every product label and brand website already has details for consumers to access the website for more information.

In addition, RB is proud of its commitment to remove triclosan from all of its U.S. products. There is currently only one RB product remaining in production that contains triclosan. The company regularly reviews its list of allowable ingredients based on new information made available as scientific knowledge progresses. This regular activity saw RB proactively remove the preservative formaldehyde and nonyl phenol ethoxylate surfactants from all products in 2006 and formaldehyde-donating preservatives in 2009.

RB's U.S. ingredient disclosure website, www.rbnainfo.com, is where the company voluntarily declares its ingredients and their purpose in products. The website includes all of its health, hygiene and home products. Customers can also locate and download MSDS for each product, which contains important safety information for bulk warehousing and transportation. In addition, the website contains information on RB's environmental standards and policies, a section specifically on fragrances and more details about its industry-leading ingredient disclosure program.

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