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Data: Fair

Polyethylene Terephthalate

Other Concerns

Non-reproductive organ system toxicity (moderate)

SYNONYMS

● ETHYLENE GLYCOL-TEREPHTHALIC ACID POLYMER
● ETHYLENE TEREPHTHALATE OLIGOMER; POLY(ETHYLENE TEREPHTHALATE) GLYCOL
● POLY(OXY-1,2-ETHANEDIYLOXYCARBONYL-1,4-PHENYLENECARBONYL)
● POLY(OXY1,2ETHANEDIYLOXYCARBONYL1,4PHENYLENECARBONYL)
● POLYETHYLENE TEREPHTHALATE

This ingredient is not currently on EWG's Skin Deep Restricted or Unacceptable Lists.


Polyethylene terephthalate is a synthetic plastic polymer used as a film-forming agent.

Common concerns

See how this product scores for common concerns.

  • LOW
    Cancer
  • LOW
    Allergies & Immunotoxicity
  • LOW
    Developmental and Reproductive Toxicity
  • LOW
    Use Restrictions

Ingredient concerns

  • CONCERNS
  • DATA SOURCES

Products with this Ingredient

Expand content Collapse content
nail polish149 products
lipstick125 products
eye shadow95 products
glitter72 products
lip gloss46 products
eye liner36 products
mask8 products
nail glue7 products
eyelash glue7 products
mascara3 products
brow liner3 products
fragrance for women2 products
hair color and bleaching2 products
2 products
lip balm with SPF1 products
lip balm1 products
hair spray1 products
concealer1 products
foundation1 products
blush1 products
hand cream1 products
bath oil/salts/soak1 products
fragrance for men1 products

Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Classified as expected to be toxic or harmfulEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List
Classified as medium human health priorityEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

Informational

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Industry or government recommendations for safe use: restrictions on concentration, impurities, product types, or manufacturing methods - anyCosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments

Ecotoxicology

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Not suspected to be an environmental toxinEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

Persistence and bioaccumulation

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Not suspected to be bioaccumulativeEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

Data gaps

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CONCERN REFERENCE
2032 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemicalNLM PubMed
  • EC (Environment Canada). 2008. Domestic Substances List Categorization. Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) Environmental Registry.
  • CIR (Cosmetic Ingredient Review). 2006. CIR Compendium, containing abstracts, discussions, and conclusions of CIR cosmetic ingredient safety assessments. Washington DC.
  • NLM (National Library of Medicine). 2012. PubMed online scientific bibliography data. http://www.pubmed.gov.

Understanding scores

Cosmetics and personal care products are not required to be tested for safety before being allowed on the market. The Skin Deep® scoring system was designed to help the public understand whether a product is safe to use or whether it contains ingredients of concern.

Every product and ingredient in Skin Deep gets a two-part score – one for hazard and one for data availability. The safest products score well by both measures, with a low hazard rating and a fair or better data availability rating.

HOW WE DETERMINE SCORES

Hazard score

The Skin Deep ingredient hazard score, from 1 to 10, reflects known and suspected hazards linked to the ingredients. The EWG VERIFIED® mark means a product meets EWG’s strictest criteria for transparency and health.

Score legend

Data availability

The Skin Deep data availability rating reflects the number of scientific studies about the product or ingredient in the published scientific literature.

NONE LIMITED FAIR GOOD ROBUST
Low Availability
Moderate Availability
High Availability

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