Where's your seat at the table?

The document criticizes the cosmetics industry's efforts to gain more direct influence in TTIP negotiations, warning that the agreement seeks the 'lowest common denominator' in safety standards rather than elevating protections. It highlights the disparity between EU and US chemical bans and argues that the secrecy of the negotiations excludes civil society while allowing industry to draft text that could undermine public health and environmental laws.

• There is a significant disparity between the European Union and the United States regarding the regulation of hazardous chemicals in cosmetics, with the EU banning 1,300 chemicals compared to only 11 under US law.
• Cosmetics Europe, representing over 4,000 companies, has lobbied for TTIP legislation to remove regulatory differences between the US and EU and has formally requested that industry experts in safety assessment and market control be added to the EU negotiation team.
• The author contends that TTIP aims to reduce compliance costs for industry by targeting the 'lowest common denominator' of protection standards rather than adopting the highest available standards for workers, consumers, and the environment.
• The TTIP negotiation process is characterized by extreme secrecy and a lack of meaningful public participation, while industry groups have been permitted to write draft sections of the agreement for negotiators.

APA

Kistler, A. (2015). Where's your seat at the table? Center for International Environmental Law. https://www.ciel.org/wheres-your-seat-at-the-table/

Chicago

Kistler, Amanda. Where's your seat at the table? Center for International Environmental Law, 2015. https://www.ciel.org/wheres-your-seat-at-the-table/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Kistler |first1=Amanda |title=Where's your seat at the table? |publisher=Center for International Environmental Law |date=21 January 2015 |url=https://www.ciel.org/wheres-your-seat-at-the-table/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{kistler2015wheres, author = {Kistler, Amanda}, title = {{Where's your seat at the table?}}, publisher = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2015}, month = jan, url = {https://www.ciel.org/wheres-your-seat-at-the-table/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }