Consumer

"The Food and Drug Administration released draft guidelines Wednesday aimed at regulating lead levels in lipstick and other cosmetic products."

The next farm bill will be the first in a long time put together entirely by a Republican government. How will big agribusiness and ordinary food consumers fare?

"Canada this month took steps toward joining the United States in banning the sale of personal-hygiene products that contain tiny plastics known as microbeads in an effort to keep them away from fish and wildlife and address plastic pollution in general."

"Californians now face a new grocery-store reality: No more plastic bags. Voters approved Proposition 67, the statewide ban on carry-out plastic bags, 52 percent to 48 percent."

"Dirk Notz calculates that for every person who drives a car 2,500 miles or takes a round-trip flight from New York to London, three square meters (about 32 square feet) of sea ice vanishes from the Arctic."

"UK water companies are urging the national trading standards body to help stamp out “misleading” labelling on disposable wet wipes that are marketed as flushable but clog up drains and litter oceans at huge environmental cost."

"A Canadian farming federation and an anti-GMO network are separately calling on the federal Competition Bureau to review the possible implications of Bayer's $66 billion US takeover of seed giant Monsanto."

"An environmental group on Wednesday accused three major TV manufacturers of misleading consumers and regulators about how much energy high-definition screens devour, alleging that the televisions were designed to perform more efficiently during government testing than in ordinary use."