342 JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY The Packaging Institute, through its Advisory Service and Drug and Pharmaceutical Committee, trans- mits information by sending out questionnaires on particular prob- lems and then publishing reports. The Advisory Service Report, en- titled "How to Predict Shelf Life from .Laboratory Data" (44), is exceedingly important to the cos- metic industry. The problems of cap corrosion (45), and filling toler- ances of collapsible tubes (46) have also been the subjects for study and report. INDUSTRIAL ADVERTISING There exists one source of in- formation whose value is by no means small. That source is the manufacturer from whom flows a steady stream of up-to-date special information representing a fund of scientific, technical, and l•ractical knowledge. This information is often vastly superior to our texts. The three chief forms of manu- facturers' publications are: (1) house organs, (2) catalogs, bro- chures, and data sheets, and (3) ad- vertising layouts in journals. Many commercial companies issue house organs packed with valuable articles which present cur- rent information in condensed form. The Merck Report, the oldest house organ in existence, carried an article entitled "Emulsion Preparations for the Skin" in a recent issue. The GivaudanJan, attractive journal of Givaudan-Delawanna, Inc., usu- ally leads with a technical article on some phase of perfumery, but OF COSMETIC CHEMISTS also contains market reports and book reviews. The Autumn, 1948, issue of Sindar Reporter was de- voted to a comprehensive anno- tated bibliography of their products G-4 and G-11 which are useful as antiseptics and fungicides. Supple- ments bringing the bibliography up to date are issued from time to time in that house organ. Schim- mel & Co., New York publishes a monthly sheet entitled SchimmeI Briefs. Turning up random copies I find in it articles on cleansing creams, lanolin and its derivatives, modern depilatories, and the newer phenolic antioxidants. Most firms issue catalogs de- scribing briefly all the products they manufacture. Data sheets are of- ten mimeographed consisting of one to three pages, or more, de- scribing a single product or series of products. The more elaborate technical bulletin contains reliable facts regarding the physical and chemical properties, reactions, speci- fications, and toxicity data, as well as a brief history of the product and a bibliography of literature and patent references for further re- search. Tables, charts, and dia- grams assist in presenting the in- formation clearly and concisely. Some of these booklets which are of considerable comprehensiveness and of sufficient reference value Mll be briefly reviewed. An informative pamphlet, "Water Soluble and Bulking Gums," issued by the Thurston and Braidich Co., consolidates the scattered informa- tion available in the literature

It SOURCES OF INFORMATION FOR THE COSMETIC INDUSTRY 343 on tragacanth, karaya, and arabic. Each gum is treated separately with properties given in detail. If you are interested in sorbitol, the Atlas Powder Co. presents con- siderable data on that product in a bulletin entitled "Sorbitol." A 44-page brochure, "Precipi- tated Calcium Carbonate" by the West Virginia Pulp & Paper Co. discusses the history, manufacture, properties, and applications of Snow Top and Caltec. Other bulletins on various topics that are outstanding and well worth retaining for permanent reference are the Atlas Powder Co.'s "Sur- face-Active Agents" and "Drug & Cosmetic Emulsions" also the booklets on Sodium CMC issued by both the du Pont Co. and Her- cules Powder Co. How many of you have noticed how much of the advertising lay- outs in the technical and trade journals are chemically informative ? Here is a source of "hot" technical knowledge giving brief data on specifications, properties, uses, and typical reactions of new chemicals. These pertinent data on industrial chemicals are so necessary in the day-by-day work of research chem- ists and chemical engineers that the editors of the American Chemi- cal Society have devised a plan to disseminate this information in a concise, usable, and readily avail- able form. Paid advertisements are presented in card form giving all information a user would be likely to need. The first installment of these I&EC F.act Cards appeared in the September, 1950, issue of Industrial & Engineering Chemistry. It is an experiment and, if received enthusiastically, a regular insert of Fact Cards will be published in each issue of this journal. STATISTICS A search for statistics is so fre- quently time-consuming that any methods which provide short cuts are particularly to be desired. Data on consumption of chemicals are relatively rare. The most com- plete statistics are those for alcohol published by the Treasury De- partment. But these indicate the ideal. In spite of all the statistics published by the government and by trade associations, it is usually difficult to learn the total output of a certain commodity, or how much of this output is being used up. In 1945 the United States Govern- ment's Bureau of Foreign and Do- mestic Commerce resumed pub- lication of the "Industrial Reference Service," Part 2, dealing with chemi- cals, drugs and pharmaceuticals. One issue of this service was a special survey entitled "Synthetic Aro- matics-Flavor and Perfume Mate- rials." The revived service has also issued "Synopses of Information" on glycerin, tartaric acid, carnauba wax, urea, and other chemicals useful in our industry. These documents cover specifications, uses, statistics on output, prices, and consumption. Information of this type has been widely diffused in books, magazines, and pamphlets, and often is inconsistent among sources.