"An Oakland watchdog group has sued four companies and plans to sue dozens more for allegedly manufacturing or selling shampoos, soaps and other care products without attaching labels warning consumers that they contained high levels of a carcinogen."

"The suit, filed Tuesday in Alameda County Superior Court by the Center for Environmental Health, accused Walgreens, Lake Consumer Products, Vogue International and Ultimark Products of selling products that allegedly had cocamide diethanolamine, or cocamide DEA.

The group said it intends to sue more than 100 other companies that make or sell such products. The organization listed Walmart, Trader Joe's, Kohl's, Target, Rite Aid, Sears, T.J. Maxx, Sephora and Colgate Palmolive.

Cocamide DEA, which is used to make foam and bubbles, was named last year as a carcinogen under Proposition 65, which requires warnings for consumer products with harmful amounts of certain toxic compounds. The chemical was added after the International Agency for Research on Cancer declared it a possible carcinogen in humans."

Stephanie M. Lee reports for the San Francisco Chronicle August 27, 2013. [2]