Advocates: Summer's Eve products have toxic chemicals

<p>Women's health advocates gathered Tuesday in Tarrytown to protest products they say are dangerous for women.</p>

News 12 Staff

Aug 7, 2018, 3:49 PM

Updated 2,082 days ago

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Women's health advocates gathered Tuesday in Tarrytown to protest products they say are dangerous for women.
The group demonstrated outside the Prestige Brands headquarters to call attention to toxic chemicals it says are in Summer's Eve products.
Led by the national women's health nonprofit Women's Voices for the Earth, demonstrators demanded Prestige Brands be more transparent about the ingredients in its iconic Summer's Eve feminine cleansing wash. They claim the product has undisclosed fragrance chemicals that can adversely affect a woman's reproductive health.
"We did a product research project of their products in the stores and have found chemicals that have been linked through scientific research and different government agencies to health effects like cancer, reproductive harm and infertility," says advocate Sarada Tangirala.
Advocates also say Summer's Eve and other products like it perpetuate negative body shaming stereotypes about women's bodies.
Prestige Brands says Summer's Eve abides by all Food and Drug Administration rules and regulations regarding feminine care products.
"We conduct extensive hypoallergenic and irritation tests during development and only market products that have been clinically proven safe and that meet our strict standards," the company said in a statement.
But demonstrators say Prestige Brands needs to be more transparent about what they put in their products and the way Summer's Eve is marketed.
"We want them to fully disclose the fragrance chemicals in all of their products," says Tangirala. "We want them to stop using body shaming and stigmatizing messaging."
Summer's Eve has been on the market for more than 40 years.
Prestige Brands says it stands behind the safety of its products.


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