Can companies that make personal care products refuse to send you their ingredient list?

jane m asked:


I just tried emailing a company about a product “Skin Appetit”. The product looked interesting, made a natural claim, and it’s a lotion bar, so I assumed it would be travel-safe.

I have a plethora of allergies, so I emailed the company to request their ingredient list to review. The customer service rep said they do not provide ingredient lists. Is that for real? How can that possibly be legal? And, isn’t it on the box anyways? What’s to hide? I’m so annoyed. Now I will look for another product b/c I don’t want to support a company that doesn’t support it’s customers.

any ideas? is that legaL!?

Gourmet Food Shoppe

1. Musical Instruments Shoppe says:

   December 6, 2007 at 7:49 pm

   Housewares Shoppe

   Yes, of course it’s legal. As far as I know, there is no requirement that companies must respond to any requests from customers.

   Whether it’s good business sense, on the other hand, is up for debate.
2. Books Shoppe says:

   December 9, 2007 at 12:35 am

   personal care

   The FDA requires that certain chemicals be included on the packaging of skin care products (initially because consumers of makeup were getting allergic reactions from products, coincidentally ). It should be displayed on the packaging, as is mandated by the FDA, but the company reserves the right to list intentionally vague ingredients in the list (the “artificial flavors” listed on coca-cola cans could be a million different chemicals, Coke isn’t obligated to list them because its considered a “trade secret”)
3. Product Review Blogs says:

   December 9, 2007 at 5:51 am

   Musical Instruments Shoppe

   It is normal for a company to keep that secret, otherwise their competitors will steal their formulas.