New Cosmetic Bill Demands Supply Chain Testing, Threatens $10,000 Daily Fines for Missing Data

This new legislation, the Cosmetic Supply Chain Transparency Act of 2025, is essentially the FDA demanding to see the receipts for every ingredient in your makeup bag and bathroom cabinet. It introduces sweeping new rules for ingredient transparency and tracking, specifically targeting trace chemicals that might be harmful but aren't intended to be there.

At its core, the bill mandates that companies—from the brand name on the bottle (the Brand Owner) down to the manufacturer of the raw materials (Supplier)—must share detailed information about ingredients, including health hazards and testing results. If a Brand Owner asks a Supplier for this data, the Supplier has only 90 days to hand it over. Crucially, this federal law doesn't override any state laws that are stricter, meaning states like California can still ban ingredients even if the FDA hasn't moved yet. Think of it as a federal floor, not a ceiling, for cosmetic safety.

The FDA’s New Hit List: What’s Not Supposed to Be There

The most significant change here is how the law addresses nonfunctional constituents. These are the chemicals present in the final product that don't actually do anything, like manufacturing byproducts or trace contaminants. The bill defines "harmful" constituents very clearly, referencing specific lists for things like carcinogens, endocrine disruptors, and chemicals that are persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic (PBTs).

The FDA must now create and maintain a public list of these unwanted trace chemicals. They have 18 months to finalize the first version, and after that, they have to review and update it annually. This is huge because it formalizes the tracking of things you don't want in your shampoo—like certain heavy metals or plasticizers—even if they’re just trace amounts. Before making this list, the FDA must convene an advisory group of industry, scientists, and public health experts to ensure the list is scientifically sound and balanced.

The Real Cost of Compliance: Testing and Penalties

Once a nonfunctional constituent lands on the FDA’s official "harmful" list, the clock starts ticking for suppliers. They have one year to implement testing protocols for that substance. After that grace period, every supplier must provide the Brand Owner with a certificate of analysis showing the levels found, the testing methods used, and the detection limits. This is a massive compliance lift, especially for smaller labs and ingredient manufacturers who now face significant, mandatory testing costs.

Why should a busy person care about a supplier’s testing budget? Because the penalty for failing to comply—whether by not sharing data in 90 days or not providing the required testing certificate—is severe: up to $10,000 per day the violation continues. This kind of financial hammer ensures compliance, but it also creates a high-stakes environment where small administrative errors or delays can bankrupt a small supplier. Ultimately, those increased costs for testing and compliance will likely work their way down the supply chain and eventually hit the consumer’s wallet.

Pinpointing the Problem

If the FDA suspects a cosmetic is unsafe or mislabeled, the Secretary can demand a full accounting of the supply chain from the Brand Owner, right down to the manufacturer and every ingredient supplier. If public safety is immediately at risk, the Secretary can demand this information from any entity in the supply chain. Everyone must keep records allowing them to produce this data when called upon. This means no more hiding behind proprietary blends or complex international sourcing—if there’s a problem, the FDA can quickly trace the source of contamination, making the entire industry more accountable for what they sell.