Prohibited Substances

Our goal in creating this list was to hone in on the worst toxic substances - those commonly found in consumer products and daily routines - in order to help eliminate them from use. If all companies were to simply adhere to this list, we would have cleaner air, water, and soil almost immediately.

NTC is creating change by moving companies away from the use of harmful chemicals. To help achieve this objective, we’ve created two lists: the Red List of Prohibited Substances for NTC and the MADE SAFE Banned & Restricted list. Together they are comprised of the worst substances that should be avoided.

The Red List includes approximately 3,000 of the most harmful chemicals. If every corporation would adhere to just our Red List, the pollution problem would be dramatically improved, resulting in cleaner air, water, and soil. Our programs leverage this list and help companies move away from these common toxicants.

Differently, the MADE SAFE Banned / Restricted List contains over 6,500 substances that are prohibited or restricted from use in MADE SAFE® Certified products. This is not an exhaustive list of all prohibited substances, but rather a starting point for companies wanting to pursue MADE SAFE® Certification. Screening products for these ingredients and/or materials is only the first step in our unique Ecosystem Approach screening, which is designed to protect people and all the resources we rely on for life. Additional steps in this approach impose further restrictions to ensure product safety and certification compliance.

Our goal in creating these lists was to hone in on the worst toxic substances - those commonly found in consumer products and daily routines - in order to help eliminate them from use.

With these combined lists, products are screened for known harmful substances such as:

  • - Toxic antibacterials + antimicrobials

    - Harmful artificial colors + dyes

    - Bisphenols

    - Carcinogens

    - Chemicals of high concern

    - Chemicals classified as persistent, bioaccumulative, or toxic to aquatic life or terrestrial life

    - Coal tar ingredients

    - Endocrine disruptors

    - Behavioral toxins

    - Developmental toxins

    - Reproductive toxins

    - Neurotoxins

    - Teratogens

  • - Endangered species

    - Ethanolamine ingredients

    - Formaldehyde releasers

    - Toxic flame retardants

    - Fluorinated + PFAS compounds

    - Toxic fragrance ingredients 

    - Genotoxins

    - Heavy metals

    - Isothiazolinone preservatives

    - Isocyanates

    - Nanomaterials

    - Toxic solvents

    - Persistent organic pollutants

    - PCBs

    - Polyethylene glycol compounds (PEGs)

  • - High-risk pesticides

    - Polysorbates

    - Retinol derivatives

    - Siloxanes + silanes

    - Ecotoxic surfactants

    - Paraffin oil, paraffin wax, petrolatum + liquid paraffinum ingredients 

    - Parabens

    - Phthalates

    - Poisonous plants 

    - Silver compounds

    - Synthetic musks

    - Harmful UV blockers + filters

    - Harmful VOCs

Note: Some substances may have category specific allowances or technically unavoidable content, in which case either additional testing or threshold requirements may apply.

The aim of determinations around banning or restricting certain substances is to eliminate the worst chemical hazards found in everyday products, and to stop the use of unsustainable and environmentally harmful production practices. These determinations are backed by science from government agencies, scientific organizations and/or subject-area experts.

In creating these monumental lists, we compiled and cross-referenced data from authoritative lists around the world to pinpoint known or probable hazardous substances used in common consumer product categories.

Each of these lists are larger than the European Union’s list of restricted substances. Stunningly, they are also hundreds of times larger than the lists of substances restricted by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency - combined.

Key sources for the Red List of Prohibited Substances and the MADE SAFE Banned & Restricted List are listed below:

1. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) Substance Priority List

2. Breast Cancer Prevention Partners Campaign for Safe Cosmetics Red List

3. California Air Resources Board Toxic Air Contaminants (TAC)

4. California Environmental Contaminant Biomonitoring Program (CECBP) Priority Chemicals

5. California Proposition 65

6. chemsec SIN List

7. Environment Canada Persistence, Bioaccumulation and Inherent Toxicity

8. European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) Cosmetic Products Regulation, Annex II - Prohibited Substances

9. European Union European Commission Carcinogenic, Mutagenic Or Toxic for Reproduction (CMR) Substances

10. European Union European Commission Endocrine Disruptor Priority List

11. European Union European Commission Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and
Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC)

12.European Union European Commission Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and
Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC)
Candidate List

13. European Union European Commission Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) Annex XVII

14. European Union European Commission Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and
Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) PBT Assessment List

15. Health Canada Cosmetic Ingredient Hotlist

16. International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) Monographs on the Identification of Carcinogenic Hazards to Humans

17. International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species - Species Classified as Endangered or Critically Endangered

18. National Toxicology Program Health Assessment and Translation Group Monographs on the Potential Human Reproductive and Developmental Effects

19. National Toxicology Program Report on Carcinogens

20. OSPAR Chemicals for Priority Action

21. P.J Grandjean and Philip John Landrigan’s List of Developmental Neurotoxins (from Neurobehavioural effects of developmental toxicity, published in the Lancet Neurology March 2014)

22. Pesticide Action Network International List of Highly Hazardous Pesticides

23. President's Cancer Panel Report

24. Silent Spring Institute Mammary Carcinogens List

25. State of Washington Department of Ecology Chemicals of High Concern to Children (CHCC)

26. State of Washington Department of Ecology Priority Toxic Chemicals

27. Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPS)

28. The Endocrine Disruption Exchange (TEDX) List of Potential Endocrine Disruptors   

29. Toxic Free Future Toxic Chemicals

30. U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) List of Highly Hazardous, Toxics and Reactives

31. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Hazardous Waste - Waste Minimization Priority Chemicals

32. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) Neurotoxicants

33. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) Carcinogens

34. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Persistent Bioaccumulative Toxic (PBT) Chemicals Covered by the Tri Program

35. U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) Prohibited & Restricted Ingredients in Cosmetics

Prohibited Substances