Ingredients in Mibelle products

Inhaltsstoffe in Mibelle-Produkten

Guest

11 years ago

Dear Migros

The question above this forum is what I think about Migros' product areas. I would like to answer this question about "personal hygiene and cosmetics". Answering the question about Migros would help me with my everyday shopping.
This winter/spring I read in the media that 22% of Mibelle's cosmetic products contain hormone-active substances. I'm a bit disappointed with Migros, I didn't think they would sell such products. Compared to other companies, 22% was rather low. Nevertheless, I wonder why such ingredients are needed: After all, 78% of the products work just as well without them.
I hear or read from various sources that the quantities in the respective product are so small that they cannot have any negative consequences for humans. As a consumer, I cannot actually check this. I don't know how many grams, kilograms or tons are processed each year, and no one can say for sure how much of it ends up in the environment. Whether they are carcinogenic, infertile or have other consequences can apparently not (yet) be sufficiently proven or refuted.
If Mibelle were my company, I would make sure that "suspected ingredients" were no longer used - better safe than sorry - and safety would definitely come before anything else with so many consumers. And the way I've got to know Migros so far, safety is actually important to them too. Wouldn't that be a case for Migros' promises to future generations?
Personally, I only want to use cosmetics, toothpaste, body lotion etc. that are free from hormone-active ingredients - even if that means giving up products that I like (e.g. M-Budget sun cream and M-Budget toothpaste, they contain parabens - a real shame, but I don't want hormone-active substances on sun-stressed skin or in my mouth). So last but not least, my question to Migros to help me find my way through the jungle of ingredients:
Which ingredients used in Mibelle products are hormone-active? How are these ingredients listed on the packaging?

Kind regards
babsi

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All replies (5)

Guest

11 years ago

I can only agree with Babsi and add that I don't want polyquaternium-7 or tiny plastic beads in my personal care products either.

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Guest

11 years ago

Hello babsi,

Thank you for your message. I can understand your concerns and basically agree with you that Migros is interested in the health of its customers and in correct and sustainable products. I cannot say exactly how the ingredients of Mibelle products are composed, which are hormone-active and which are subject to declaration, but I will try to clarify this.

Kind regards,
Antonia, Migipedia team

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Guest

10 years ago

I am also very curious about the answer.

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Guest

10 years ago

A new article is online and it also mentions Mibelle products. To the article: "Hormonally active substances in every fourth cosmetic product"

@Antonia_Migroshaveyou done any more research on the topic, is there any news?

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Guest

9 years ago

Hello everyone

I have been in contact with those responsible and have received the following detailed explanation from them. They addressed various points originally mentioned:

"22% of Mibelle's products contain endocrine disruptors"

You are probably referring to the study published in July 2013 by the newspaper BUND, where this claim was made. BUND uses a very broad definition of "endocrine disruptor", which has very little to do with the reality in the human body. In addition, a database with a great deal of outdated and incorrect information was used for this survey; BUND did not go to the stores itself and check all the products.

We would like to explain the term "hormone-active" in more detail:

Hormones are messenger substances in the body that regulate a variety of bodily functions. This regulation of bodily functions is very robust and can balance out many external influences (food, climate, illnesses). For an external substance to actually change this regulation, it must have a fairly strong effect and also be present in the right place in sufficient quantities. An example of this is the contraceptive pill, which suppresses ovulation; a woman has to take it every day and the manufacturer has had to pay close attention to the composition of the pill so that the hormone-active substance in it is effective.

A lot is currently being written about so-called endocrine disruptors in cosmetics. Tests were carried out with very large quantities or with isolated cells or hormone receptors (these are the places in a cell where the hormone "docks"). These tests measured how strongly the substance binds to the hormone receptor. However, this binding alone does not mean that the substance would actually have a hormonal effect in the body. The tests have shown that the effects are very weak. In such tests, butylparaben, for example, bound millions of times weaker than the active ingredient in the pill and 1000 times weaker than various soy ingredients.

These substances can have negative effects on humans, but only in very large quantities, as they are not used in cosmetics. In order to prevent such negative effects on humans, there are legally prescribed maximum concentrations and toxicological tests at various levels, e.g. also for the Mibelle.

Environmental pollution:

It is known how much of the substances end up in the environment. At most, this is the quantity that is used in each case. This is precisely monitored by the EU for each substance and the substances are or have been tested by the EU.

"Suspected ingredients"

As you can imagine, it is very easy to raise suspicions about a substance. Even if there is no evidence for it. Of course, the safety of our customers always comes first for Mibelle. But it doesn't make sense to act on every rumor. In order to ensure safe products, the EU's Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) examines all substances that are potentially harmful (such as parabens) and clarifies the concentrations up to which they can be used without risk. If there are new findings, the substance is re-examined. We at Mibelle then use toxicological reports to ensure that the finished product is not dangerous.

"Cosmetics that are free from endocrine disruptors"

As explained above, these are all cosmetics that you can buy from us. All substances used in a product are declared on the packaging; if you don't understand the names, you can lookthem up on haut.den,for example .None of the substances used by Mibelle are hormone-active in the concentrations used; you can use all our products without hesitation.

Kind regards
Tanja

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