Dr. Scott Heid, Ph.D., representing Communications at P&G Beauty, has announced the company’s schedule for phasing out two controversial ingredients in its products – phthalates and triclosan.

Several years ago P&G decided to phase out the use of these ingredients, and now says that by 2014 all of P&G’s products will be phthalate-free, and triclosan will be eliminated from its formulations.

Right now, seventy percent of P&G products are phthalate-free.

Heid added that the only phthalate ever used in its products is DEP, which is safe. He explained,

“We know that there is the potential for people to confuse DEP with other phthalates that are banned from certain product types. We want people to also feel safe about using our products and not have any misperceptions about the product ingredients we use. So, we decided to remove DEP from our products…”

Triclosan has already been removed from all of P&G’s personal care products.

Although the company says that triclosan is known to be safe, the decision to remove it from all of its products comes from are ongoing discussions about how effective it is for reducing bacteria compared to regular soap.