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September 28, 2026Dollar store makeup, laundry detergent and skincare products list chemicals linked to health harms, highlights new product screening
New product screening data from the Campaign for Healthier Solutions highlights dollar store personal care and household products that openly list ingredients linked to health harms, including endocrine disruption, reproductive harm, and cancer. Six out of 78 products screened listed chemicals that are prohibited in cosmetics in at least one U.S. state, now or starting in 2027, including PFAS, formaldehyde releasers, toluene and lilial.
In the summer of 2026, members of community organizations including Líderes Campesinas, the Just Transition Alliance, Los Jardines Institute, Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services, and Harambee House captured label photos of 63 products in Dollar Tree and Dollar General stores using Clearya Survey, and 15 Family Dollar products found on online retailer listings. Using Clearya Insights, the collected product information was processed, and the ingredients were screened against lists of chemicals of concern, including chemicals restricted in one or more U.S. states or the European Union, and chemicals deemed hazardous by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, and other scientific agencies.
“Dollar stores need to get ahead on compliance,” said José Bravo, National Coordinator of the Campaign for Healthier Solutions. “Our product screening initiative shows it’s not that hard to find a banned ingredient openly listed on product labels in the dollar store beauty aisle.”
California bans intentionally-added PFAS in cosmetic products, which include products applied to the human body for cleansing and beautifying. A “Bling Bubbles Razz-Fizz Scented Purify & Detoxify Bubbling Face Mask” sold at a Dollar Tree in Coachella, California in July 2026 listed “methyl perfluoroisobutyl ether” in its ingredients, which is a PFAS chemical according to California law.
Volumizing hair treatment from IT sold at Dollar General (CA), and feminine cleansing wipes from Modess sold at Dollar Tree (TX) listed lilial (butylphenyl methylpropional), a potential reproductive toxicant that will be banned in California cosmetics starting in 2027. Moisturizing body lotion from Pro Silk sold at Dollar Tree (CA) and jelly eye masks from LASplash sold at Dollar Tree (TX) listed the formaldehyde releaser DMDM hydantoin, which will be banned in cosmetics in Washington state starting January 2027. Skip the Spa brand blemish patches sold at Dollar Tree (CA) list toluene, a potential reproductive toxicant that will be prohibited in cosmetics in Vermont starting July 2027; Dollar Tree lists toluene as a restricted substance on its Chemical Management Policy, which applies to private-label formulated products.
Earlier this year, Dollar Tree expanded its Chemical Management Policy, committing to new restrictions on PFAS, formaldehyde releasers, and parabens in private-label formulated products nationwide. But neither Dollar Tree or Dollar General restrict chemicals of concern in national-brand products sold at their stores. Dollar Tree commits to “engage national brand suppliers to comply” with their restricted substance list, and recently issued concrete new requirements for private-label suppliers to improve transparency and compliance that were responsive to community concerns. Dollar General has committed to restrict fewer chemicals of concern, and has engaged less with community groups in recent years, underscoring the need for Dollar General to match Dollar Tree’s commitments.
“When our community members (including many farmworker families) are shopping at a dollar store, they don’t know which products are private-label,” said Yunuen Ibarra of Líderes Campesinas. “If dollar stores are stocking national brands that list PFAS or other chemicals prohibited by California state law, they should be more motivated to pressure national brands to remove them.”
“If California or Washington bans a chemical because of its links to health issues, we don’t want to see dollar stores using red states like Texas as a dumping ground for products that still contain banned ingredients,” said Deyadira Arellano of Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services (T.e.j.a.s.). “It’s encouraging to see Dollar Tree extend its restrictions of PFAS and formaldehyde releasers in private-label formulated products nationwide. Now it’s time for dollar stores to use their power to pressure national brands to get these toxics out too.”
Available for Comment
Deidre Nelms; Communications Director; Coming Clean; (802) 251-0203 ext. 711, dnelms@comingcleaninc.org.