Standards for Organic Cosmetic Products

Natural and organic products are experiencing a real boom among consumers. Cosmetic companies have seized upon this phenomenon. However, this market is heavily controlled by authorities due to health and environmental concerns. In addition to regulations regarding the marketing of cosmetic products, these products must meet other specific requirements for “organic” certification. What are the standards to be followed for organic cosmetic products?

What is an Organic Cosmetic?

Unlike “conventional” cosmetic products, which are largely made from synthetic ingredients, organic cosmetic products contain a high level of organic ingredients, the proportion of which can vary depending on the product.

An organic cosmetic product is composed of organic ingredients or raw materials. Organic cosmetics include all beauty products, hair care products, hygiene and toiletry products, as well as perfumery.

What’s the Difference Between an Organic Cosmetic and a Natural or Naturally-Derived Cosmetic?

The difference lies mainly in the composition of the product.

A natural cosmetic product is a product of plant, animal, or mineral origin, or more precisely, an unprocessed product, with the exception of traditional mechanical actions such as ingredient extraction.

A naturally-derived cosmetic product refers to a product that has undergone only minor chemical transformation.

However, these products are not required to indicate the percentage of natural products present in the formulation, so one must rely on the brand’s good faith, unlike organic cosmetics which are subject to certain legal rules.

What Obligations for the “Organic” Brand?

In addition to the Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 of 30 November 2009 on cosmetic products as decrypted here, the use of the organic designation requires compliance with certain criteria. This mainly involves the Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 of 28 June 2007 on organic production and labelling of cosmetic products.

The use of the organic designation requires that 100% of its ingredients or raw materials are organic. In this case, the brand can affix the organic designation on the labeling of its products as well as official logos such as the French AB logo or European organic logo.

However, if their organic ingredient content is less than 100% and greater than or equal to 95%, it must explicitly indicate this on the product label. Below 95%, the product cannot be qualified as organic.

To market products with the organic designation, the brand must be certified by a certifying body approved by the National Institute of Origin and Quality (INAO). This certifying body will regularly check compliance with standards such as the quality of cosmetic products.

The following information must be mentioned on the product label:

• The list of ingredients from organic farming that make up the product;
• The percentage of these ingredients in the entire product.

For reference, water is not a product of agriculture, which means there is no obligation for water to be organic. Therefore, a cleansing water containing more than 90% water will have a low percentage of ingredients from organic farming, even though its organic ingredients are significant.

It is prohibited, for an organic cosmetic product, to contain:

• Ingredients of petrochemical origin;
• Nanomaterials;
• Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs);
• Certain environmentally polluting ingredients such as palm oil;
• Certain processing techniques such as ionization.

Consequently, the brand must be able to justify the legality of the claims appearing on the “label of its organic product. The properties indicated on the” product label must correspond, unequivocally, to the actual quality of the cosmetic.

What is the ISO 16128 Standard?

The NF ISO standard No. 16128-1 relating to products of organic and/or natural origin is a document of voluntary application, meaning that this standard is not mandatory for brands.

It harmonizes the definitions of organic ingredients, organic derivatives, natural and natural derivatives. Most importantly, it establishes calculation methods to determine the indices and level of naturalness of ingredients in cosmetic products.

It should be noted that this ISO standard has an international scope as it generally allows the use “o ‘f ingredients from genetically modified plants’, which ar” e not authorized in France due to our European regulations.

Organic cosmetic products and labels: which certifications to choose?

There are a variety of organic certifications whose composition requirements vary depending on the labels and their associated specifications. This is a voluntary procedure and not mandatory.

Cosmebio

Cosmebio is the French association for organic cosmetics that regulates the organic product market through the Cosmebio charter and better informs consumers. Cosmebio has established two labels:

• The Cosmos natural label certifies any product whose composition limits petrochemical origin to achieve approximately 95% maximum ingredients of natural origin;

• The Cosmos organic label certifies any product whose composition limits the petrochemical origin of the product to approximately 95% maximum ingredients of natural origin and contains a minimum of 95% organic ingredients out of all ingredients that can be organic, as well as a minimum of 20% organic ingredients of the total product.

Additionally, the Cosmebio label guarantees a natural and ecological life cycle of cosmetic products through:

• The mention of the origin of raw materials to encourage ethical and sustainable sourcing;
• A gentle and non-polluting transformation process;
• The monitoring of the finished product manufacturing including clean composition, packaging, and storage;
• The assurance of transparent labeling and responsible communication.

Ecocert

Ecocert is an independent French organization for control and certification of products from organic agriculture. Ecocert’s approach is based on a policy of environmental protection and biodiversity. As such, it favors natural resources, promotes the use of ingredients from organic farming, guarantees respect for the environment, and reduces product packaging.

According to the Ecocert standard, a cosmetic product is qualified as organic when it contains at least 95% of plant ingredients from organic farming and at least 10% organic ingredients.

Who Controls?

Manufacturers, and more generally cosmetic operators, can be controlled by several actors.

The INAO is a public administrative institution. It is notably responsible for supervising the control of organic products. For example, it is the INAO that aggregates and periodically evaluates the organizations carrying out official controls of organic products to ensure their competence, independence, and impartiality.

The General Directorate for Competition Policy, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control (DGCCRF) verifies the loyalty of information provided to consumers. It guarantees consumer protection, proper market functioning, and product safety and compliance. Therefore, it has administrative police power. For example, it conducts investigations, identifies breaches of consumer law…

Lastly, the judge controls compliance with these standards when a brand uses the organic cosmetic product designation.

What are the sanctions for non-compliance with standards?

According to Regulation (EU) No. 655/2013 of July 10, 2013, and the Professional Advertising Regulatory Authority (ARPP), a claim refers to “any assertion, indication, or presentation used for advertising a product”. Therefore, any indication must be truthful, justified, and not mislead the consumer.

Otherwise, the brand may be sanctioned on the basis of misleading commercial practices. This will be the case when a brand uses organic claims on its cosmetic products when in reality, they are not organic. In this case, it may be punished with two years of imprisonment and a fine of 300,000 euros. This fine may be increased to 10% of the company’s average annual turnover or 50% of the expenses incurred for the production of the misleading advertising (Article L. 121-6 of the Consumer Code).

In addition, a competing brand complying with organic cosmetic product standards may take legal action against a company falsely using the organic designation, on the basis of unfair competition (Articles 1240 and 1241 of the Civil Code). Unfair competition refers to “any action, omission, conduct, approach or commercial communication, including advertising and marketing, by a professional, directly related to the promotion, sale or supply of a product to consumers” (Directive 2005/29/EC of 11 May 2005 concerning unfair business-to-consumer commercial practices in the internal market). It will be sanctioned by the payment of damages assessed by the judges.

To conclude

Therefore, extreme caution must be exercised when a brand implements ecological marketing. Today, organic cosmetics focus on active ingredients derived from nature, such as plant extracts. At the same time, pesticides and materials dangerous to health or nature are banned from their formulation. According to a study conducted by Cosmebio in 2020, in France, 50% of consumers use organic cosmetics.

Organic certifications and organic logos enjoy significant notoriety, allowing brands to showcase their efforts and ultimately, the quality of their products. However, the 2019 DGCCRF survey revealed numerous breaches of current standards for organic cosmetic products, namely the existence of insufficiently justified claims, the presence of prohibited substances or allergens not listed in the ingredients list, as well as the lack of traceability for certain products.

In this regard, Trustt decodes for you the legal standards for cosmetic brands, to be found in upcoming legal advice articles.