Socialist sunscreen: AOC’s sunblock regulation critique opens debate, FDA welcomes ingredients conditionally

06 Sep 2023 --- US representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has challenged US FDA’s regulations on sunscreen, vocalizing a need to expand the list of approved ingredients to improve UV protection, sparking the conversation: Is sunscreen socialist? 

Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez, commonly referred to as AOC, flagged that the FDA regulations on sunblock are limiting US citizens’ access to higher-performance UV filters that are allowed in other countries.

However, the FDA tells Personal Care Insights that it welcomes and encourages introducing more sunscreen options to the US market but declares that they must meet regulatory standards.

“While some countries regulate sunscreens differently (for instance, as cosmetics), in the US, sunscreens are an FDA-regulated drug product, which means they must meet standards related to the safety and effectiveness of over-the-counter drug products in the US,” an FDA spokesperson tells us.

Ocasio-Cortez believes the quality of sunscreen in the US is of a lower caliber than in other countries. “I was in South Korea earlier this year, and it is so clear how far advanced the rest of the world is on sunscreen, and we deserve better in the US,” she states in a social media video.

However, some members on the left side of the American political spectrum have criticized AOC’s opinion on the regulation of sunscreen ingredients as not being socialist, a party with which AOC has aligned herself.

Congresswoman AOC creates controversy over sunscreen.Push and pull over ingredients
The FDA regulations on sunscreens have yet to be updated since 1999. However, the FDA will soon implement The Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act (MoCRA), which will require any facility that manufactures or processes cosmetic products intended for sale in the US to register with the FDA and list products and ingredient information for any cosmetics intended for US distribution.

However, it remains unclear whether sunscreen regulations will be adjusted through MoCRA, since UV filters are classified as drugs in the US.

“To encourage the introduction of more sunscreens on the market in the US, the FDA has (and continues to) invite sunscreen manufacturers to submit data showing that sunscreens not yet on the market in the US are generally recognized as safe and effective. The FDA has outlined the data needed to establish this, but, to date, the Agency has not received this data,” asserts the FDA spokesperson.

Furthermore, dermatologists have pointed out that the ingredients in some sunscreens outside the US provide better cancer prevention than ingredients permitted in the US.

“It’s not too corny. Please contact your member of Congress. Ask them to break through some of the regulatory barriers at the FDA,” implores Ocasio-Cortez.

“In Europe and some other countries, sunscreens are regulated as cosmetics, not as drugs. A total of eight sunscreen active ingredients currently marketed in Europe were submitted for evaluation by FDA,” adds the spokesperson.

The ingredients assessed were bemotrizinol, bisoctrizole, drometrizole trisiloxane, octyl triazone, amiloxate, diethyhexyl butamido triazoThe FDA asserts it has not received compelling research to add new ingredients allowed in sunscreen.ne, ecamsule and enzacamene. The FDA identified insufficient data to support the conclusion that these active ingredients were generally considered safe and effective.

“The FDA communicated this conclusion to manufacturers over seven years ago (in letters sent in 2014 and 2015), identified the missing data, and requested that the missing data be submitted to allow the FDA to conduct a full assessment of these active ingredients. To date, the requested data has not been submitted.”

“We note that one manufacturer is working with FDA to generate the requested data for bemotrizinol. In addition, one of these ingredients, ecamsule, is currently approved in the US under a new drug application.”

Sunblock gets political
Amid the socialist sunscreen debate, the Marxist party Socialist Alternative published a reactive statement toward AOC. It reads: “The beauty industry is fundamentally sexist, racist and anti-worker. Anyone who’s comfortable working within this system is not on our side. It’s past time for the left to say, once and for all, no more sellouts.”

Some members from the left believe AOC advocating for the FDA to permit more ingredients in sunscreen contributes to the US’s consumerist mentality and capitalistic way of life. However, others saw the representative’s involvement in the push for better sun protection as beneficial.

The United Farm Workers union commented: “Protection from the sun is absolutely a working-class issue.” The union is referencing how many working-class Americans are often exposed to damaging UV rays and would benefit from having more protective ingredients.

Additionally, Rhode Island Democratic Socialists of America replied: “Even if this is a workplace safety issue, her analysis is not socialist, but soccer-mom consumerism.”

By Sabine Waldeck