Cosmetics Firm Charged With False Advertising

A Chatsworth cosmetics manufacturer was charged Wednesday by the Federal Trade Commission with falsely advertising that its hair color and other products do not harm the Earth’s protective ozone layer. Under a proposed consent agreement to settle the charges, Jerome Russell Cosmetics U.S.A. would be prohibited from making “false and misleading” claims that its products are “ozone friendly” and “ozone safe.”

The FTC said the firm’s products contain 1,1,1-trichloroethane, a chemical that destroys the stratospheric ozone layer that shields life on Earth from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet radiation. Company Vice President Garth Beverige said that the FTC complaint “is new to me” and that he would not comment further until he could talk to the FTC.

The FTC is expected to make the decree final after a 60-day public comment period.