Phaseout Parabens

WHEREAS:

According to Avon Products' website, 82 products, including Auto Focus Light Adjusting Foundation, Beyond Color Illuminating Radiance Vitamin C Foundation, Beyond Color Vertical Lift Foundation, Perfect Wear Total Coverage Concealer, Clear Finish Great Complexion Pressed Powder contain parabens.

Parabens are preservatives that have been identified as estrogenic with preliminary evidence indicating that they can disrupt normal hormone functions. Estrogenic substances are chemicals foreign to the body that mimic the function of the naturally occurring hormone, estrogen. Estrogen has been shown to control the growth of breast cells, and exposure to external estrogens has been shown to increase the risk of breast cancer.

According to a report by the National Research Council, some synthetic chemicals in the environment that mimic the actions of the female sex hormone estradiol are associated with adverse reproductive and developmental effects in wildlife. Estradiol, which is a form of estrogen, has been identified in the 9th Report on Carcinogens published by the National Toxicology Program as "reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen, based on sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity in experimental animals." Since breast cancer in humans is known to be hormonally-mediated, endocrine disrupting chemicals that mimic the behavior of estrogen have the potential to affect breast cancer development.

BE IT RESOLVED

The shareholders request that the Board of Directors prepare a report (at reasonable cost and omitting proprietary information), available to shareholders by October 2003 evaluating the feasibility of removing, or substituting with safer alternatives, all parabens used in Avon products.

SUPPORTING STATEMENT

Our company deserves high praise for its commitment to women's health. Avon has raised approximately $190 million for women's health programs in 30 countries through a variety of fundraising programs. Avon states on its web site, "No other company has committed as much money to the cause of women's health." Our company has done more in the breast cancer fight than any other company.

Chemicals that may pose higher-than-average risk to human health, and particularly those that increase the risk of breast cancer, undermine our company's good efforts to support women's health, especially in the breast cancer arena. They do not belong in our products.