Reckitt Benckiser Expanding U.S. Ingredient Disclosure Program

Reckitt Benckiser U.S. (RB) says it’s the first major U.S. consumer products company to expand its ingredient disclosure initiative to feature the 26 recognized fragrance allergens for all of its U.S. products, starting in early 2014, and the company will remove triclosan from all U.S. products by the end of 2014. RB has already enabled U.S. consumers to see its product ingredients for more than three years.

“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,” said Alexander Lacik, president, North America, for Parsippany, N.J.-based 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 will allow consumers with fragrance allergies to know what’s in the products they buy. The information will be available on RB’s U.S. ingredient disclosure website.

RB’s U.S. ingredient disclosure website, where the company voluntarily declares its ingredients and their purpose in products, includes all of its health, hygiene and home products. Visitors can also locate and download Material Safety Data Sheets for each product, which contain safety information for bulk warehousing and transportation. Further, the site offers information on RB’s environmental standards and policies, a section devoted to fragrances and additional details on its ingredient disclosure program.

There’s currently just one RB product that contains triclosan, an antibacterial and antifungal agent used in personal care products. The Food and Drug Agency has found no evidence that triclosan provides any health benefit, aside from its anti-ginigvitis effect in toothpaste. RB has already removed the preservative formaldehyde and nonyl phenol ethoxylate surfactants from all products in 2006, and formaldehyde-donating preservatives in 2009.

RB has operations in more than 60 countries, with headquarters in the United Kingdom, Singapore, Dubai and Amsterdam, and sales in almost 200 countries. The company employs about 38,000 people worldwide.