Are big cosmetic companies more trustworthy?
On the Internet, big cosmetic corporations frequently get labeled as evil and there is the implication that they are trying to harm their consumers. Small companies don’t seem to experience that kind of scrutiny which is baffling to me because they are much more likely to make labeling errors, make misleading claims, and produce unsafe products. That’s not to suggest big companies are immune from these mistakes but if given the choice to buy a product from a big company or a small company, I suggest people stick with big companies. A big company just has so much more to lose than a small company. 
Here is a report from the FDA which illustrates why I think big companies are more trustworthy when it comes to the safety of cosmetics.
According to this report Johnson & Johnson (a big corporation) issued a recall of their Clean & Clear Morning Burst Hydrating Gel Moisturizer. This affected about 8500 units. Apparently, the product was mislabeled because during manufacturing someone used a combination of raw materials 1,3 Butylene Glycol and Dimethicone rather than Dimethicone alone.
I’m sure this kind of mistake happens on occasion at every cosmetic manufacturing facility both big and small, but it is only a big company that would do anything about it.
Why?
Because there is no way the FDA would be able to catch this kind of error. It is essentially invisible. In fact, the only way that the FDA learned of the error was because J&J reported it themselves.
The amount of money that this will cost J&J might approach $1 million. To a big corporation, this isn’t much but to a small company this would ruin them. Does anyone believe a small cosmetic company would report an invisible mistake to the FDA and initiate a product recall that could destroy their company? I don’t think so.
When it comes to product safety, consumers should trust the big guys. This is not to suggest that the big companies are perfect but all things being equal, they are just a safer bet.
