PORTSMOUTH - Janah Trent of Kittery, Maine, doesn't want her young child - or anyone else's - sitting in bathwater containing formaldehyde, a byproduct of many popular brand-name baby shampoos, she said.

Advocates with Clean Water Action New Hampshire say most consumers also would be troubled to know many lipsticks contain leads, and it isn't uncommon for mascara to contain mercury.

Many people may ask why the government lets companies put such ingredients in hygiene products, but they actually don't, according to Elise Annunziata.

"There isn't any regulation ... it's completely self-regulated by the industry, and we saw how well that worked on Wall Street," she said.

Annunziata's organization is calling for the federal Food and Drug Administration to get regulatory authority over ingredients in personal hygiene products like soaps, lotions and cosmetics.

On Saturday Clean Water Action set up a display in the Eastern Mountain Sports retail store in Portsmouth to educate consumers and urge them to sign a petition to be forwarded to New Hampshire's congressional delegation on Earth Day, April 22. The goal is to get 2,000 signatures.

Read the rest of the article in Foster's Daily Democrat.