Personal Care Products Council 2010 Annual Meeting

Feb 24th, 2010

Jeff Falk

At the general session of the Personal Care Products Council’s 2010 Annual Meeting, approximately 400 industry leaders convened to hear board chairman Dan Brestle review 2009 accomplishments and new Personal Care Products Council president and CEO Lezlee Westine discuss 2010 goals and initiatives. The general session also included presentations from PriceWaterhouseCoopers on the economic impact and social contributions of the industry and pollster John Zogby on the changing profiles of American consumers.

In his speech, chairman Dan Brestle, focused on the Council’s successful legislative and regulatory efforts in 2009, key advances in consumer safety and the continued success of the Council’s signature philanthropic program, Look Good ...Feel Better, which helps women deal with the appearance-related side effects of cancer treatment.

“While we worked on the legislative and regulatory fronts, we also continued our work to strengthen and enhance important safety programs that reinforce our industry’s commitment to product and ingredient safety,” Brestle said in his speech. “We welcomed two new chemists to the Cosmetic Ingredient Review Expert Panel, and we made significant progress in enhancing CIR procedures to increase efficiency.”

Brestle also noted that in its international work, the Personal Care Products Council “…continued to engage actively with industry associations and regulators and to advocate for the international harmonization of regulations that will help improve our business operations, reduce costs and market safe products worldwide. Our industry’s international growth has been significant, and even during a time when the U.S. and global economies have been in meltdown, many international markets have continued to grow.”

In her remarks, Westine noted the dramatic change in the political environment and said that the Personal Care Products Council has stepped up industry visibility on Capitol Hill and in state capitols with manufacturing facility visits, educational Congressional events and legislative meetings. “On the regulatory front, we are working closely with new FDA leadership, and our lobbying for increased federal funding has strengthened FDA’s Office of Cosmetics and Colors,” she said.

The 2010 meeting is the first Personal Care Products Council event for Westine since she joined the Council in May 2009. Westine previously served as president and CEO of TechNet, a bipartisan political network of CEOs and senior executives from the leading technology companies in the United States. She was also White House Director of Public Liaison and director of California Gov. Pete Wilson’s northern California office.

In the general session, PricewaterhouseCoopers professionals Susan McPartlin and John Stell presented highlights from their study on the economic impact and social contributions of personal care products companies. Results showed that the industry contributed significantly to sustainable economic growth by providing job opportunities for millions of Americans—particularly women and minorities, developing small businesses, enhancing trade opportunities, making considerable charitable contributions and being environmentally responsible.

According to the study, which is based on U.S. government statistics, the personal care products industry is directly responsible for creating nearly 2.8 million American jobs, and contributing $189 billion to America’s GDP. Alternative measures suggest the numbers could be higher. For example, individuals in the direct selling segment of the industry, who are not included in government data, could add another 3.2 million to the total. Also, state governments licensed 2.2 million cosmetologists and nail technicians in 2007.

The study also demonstrated that personal care product manufacturers, overall, are less energy-intensive compared to other manufacturers. Key highlights from the study include:

Industry Employment Diversity is Strong: Women comprise 66% of the industry workforce, compared to 48% of the workforce for all industries. Minorities represent a higher share overall and in management (35% and 19%, respectively) than the economy in general (34% and 18%, respectively).
Industry Generates Significant Trade Surplus: Industry generated a trade surplus of $5 billion in 2008 compared to a trade deficit of $819 billion for the economy as a whole.
Industry Charitable Contributions High: Industry philanthropic contributions exceeded those of other industries by more than 60%. For every $1 million personal care product manufacturers received, they made charitable contributions of approximately $1,400, compared to an average of $539 across other industries.
Industry Fosters Small Businesses: Companies with fewer than 10 employees account for 72% of the industry's employment, while companies with less than 50 employees account for 92%.
Industry Increases R&D Spending: Personal care product manufacturers increased research and development spending at a 5.6% average annual rate from ’97–’07.

In his presentation, pollster John Zogby spoke about how the changing values and priorities of American consumers are effecting their purchasing decisions and what that means for the cosmetics and personal care products industry.