Changing an entire industry that is relatively unregulated is a daunting task. But Gallatin junior Jessica Assaf isn’t one to back down from a fight.
Last week, Assaf took on the cosmetics world, visiting various drug stores to paste stickers on Secret deodorant products, warnings about toxic chemicals. They read: “Warning: Toxic Hazard. Ingredients in this product have been linked to cancer, neurotoxicity and reproductive toxicity.”
But this is not the first time Assaf has spoken out.
At the age of 15, Assaf participated in an Environmental Working Group study that found 13 hormone-altering chemicals in Assaf’s blood and urine samples, including above-average levels of parabens — chemicals that have been linked to cancer and all from common cosmetic products she used. When she later learned that the Food and Drug Administration had no authority to require pre-market safety assessments for many of the products young women in American use everyday, Assaf began her campaign for change.
“I was furious,” Assaf said. “For someone who considers herself a ‘conscious consumer,’ I was outraged to realize that we are unknowingly being exposed to toxic chemicals because cosmetic manufacturers are not required to conduct safety testing or even disclose all of their ingredients on product packaging.”
Throughout high school, Assaf worked tirelessly to raise awareness of environmental health issues throughout California. She reached out to legislators and lobbied Congress. Spreading her focus to a number of different issues, she traveled to Ghana for a semester, working to create a documentary focusing on women who were HIV-positive. But turning back to environmental health, Assaf then helped to organize a picket outside Abercrombie and Fitch, targeting the toxins found in its signature perfume products.
Her efforts soon impressed many around her, including her Gallatin advisor, David Moore.
“I first became Jessica’s advisor in 2010,” Moore said. “And right away I was extremely impressed with her knowledge of issues [like] environmental health [and] the dynamics of social change. I’ve come to know that she is very driven to [make] a difference in the world, and I have the utmost respect for her.”
Along with these projects, Assaf began educating consumers through events and panel discussions with the Gallatin Green Team and her own organization, Teens Turning Green.
Working with the Yes Men, an organization dedicated to raising awareness of social issues, Assaf became inspired by the idea of direct action as the answer to many growing environmental issues.
“Since the 1960s there is much less of a societal emphasis on direct action as a form of activism,” she said. “We have really lost that action-based mentality, and I want to bring it back.”
Assaf began her NYC campaign last week with $20, a few other NYU students and some bright yellow warning stickers.
“I know what I did is illegal,” Assaf said. “But why should I act within the system if the system is enabling injustices like this to occur? If I really want to make a difference, I have to put my best interests aside and think about the bigger picture.”
Working with fellow film student Emma Thatcher, the small team is planning to complete “Body Burden,” a documentary that will bring attention to the harmful effects of prevalent toxins that exist in products young women use everyday.
“Jessica has so many connections, and working with her has been the easiest process,” Thatcher said. “I mean, just feeding off her passion and her work, I believe we can do this.”