Our certificates
Cosmos
The COSMOS standard came into force in 2010 and is now the basic certification for natural and organic cosmetics in over 60 countries. It differentiates between consumer products and raw materials. It was established in Europe by five national associations:
• ECOCERT (France)
• Cosmebio (France)
•BDIH (Germany)
•ICEA (Italy)
•Soil Association (UK).
A distinction is made between certification and approval. For conventional, natural raw materials without significant organic components, a “COSMOS approval” is usually obtained.
A certification for raw materials with an organic component is called “COSMOS certified”.
For cosmetic end products, certifications either as “COSMOS natural” or “COSMOS organic” are possible. The latter relates to end products with an organic component.
NaTrue
The “International Natural and Organic Cosmetics Association” is a non-profit organisation established in 2007 by the leading natural cosmetics producers in Europe. It can be seen as a type of self-regulation body, with strict guidelines for the naturalness of cosmetics products. The NATRUE seal is one of the most rigorous guidelines for cosmetics. It guarantees that the most exacting requirements are fulfilled.
Certification is particularly widespread for end products. However, it is also possible to obtain the status “NATRUE Approval” for cosmetic raw materials. Raw materials exclusively containing substances classified as natural, nature-identical or near-natural may qualify as NATRUE-compliant.
RSPO
The “Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil” is an initiative which promotes the cultivation and marketing of sustainable palm oil. Palm oil is the most important vegetable oil in the world. It is sourced from the fruits and seeds of oil palms and thus yields two different oils with specific characteristics. Although the yield per hectare is the highest among all commercial oil plants, cropland is restricted to the species-rich tropics. It is therefore particularly important to ensure that the cultivation of oil palms is sustainable.
Where palm oil is sustainable, cropland is not enlarged through overexploitation, standards for worker rights are complied with and the use of pesticides is reduced. One of most important certificates for this is the RSPO seal. It was established in 2004 on the initiative of the WWF and brings together numerous members of the supply chain as well as NGOs. Compliance with the rigorous requirements is assessed each year through audits. Other labels cooperate with and supplement the RSPO, for example ASD (Action for Sustainable Derivatives).
Check our progress at www.rspo.org
Bio seal
Raw materials which, according to special requirements, have been cultivated and produced in a sustainable and environmentally-friendly manner are labelled “organic” or “biological”. The clearest difference vis-à-vis traditional production is the fact that pesticides are not used in the farming process.
The EU Bio seal is based on the criteria of EU Regulation (EC) No. 834/2007 on the organic production and labelling of organic products.
ISO 9001
ISO 9001 is a standard for quality management systems and defines the requirements for such systems. An organization must meet these requirements in order to be able to provide products and services that fulfill customer expectations as well as legal and regulatory requirements relevant to the product or service. At the same time, the management system should be subject to a continuous improvement process.
Popular certifications & standards
Please find below a list of further common certifications, as well as needs-specific requirements and legal requirements, which our products fulfil.
Ecocert
Ecocert is an organisation for the monitoring and certification of organic products. It was established in France in 1991 and now maintains offices all over the world. It is the founding member of the COSMOS Standard and thus actively promotes consistent labelling of natural cosmetics products so as to achieve greater transparency and more clarity for the consumer.
NCS
The “Natural Cosmetic Standard” label is awarded by GfaW (Gesellschaft für angewandte Wirtschaftsethik UG). It is awarded to organic and natural cosmetics with a 95% proportion of ingredients originating from controlled organic farming. It is a rigorous natural cosmetics seal, even if it is still less widespread than NATRUE, for example. Four variants of the label are distinguished at NCS:
• Natural cosmetics (NCS)
• Organic natural cosmetics (organic NCS)
• Vegan natural cosmetics (vegan NCS)
• Vegan organic natural cosmetics (vegan organic NCS)
NPA
The “Natural Products Association Standard and Certification for Personal Care Products” is a US standard for cosmetics with at least 95% natural ingredients, i.e. from plant, animal or mineral raw materials. It also classifies factors such as GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) ingredients.
NSF / Ansi 305
NSF is a US Label for “organic” personal care products, i.e. cosmetics that contain raw materials certified as organic. Since the state-sponsored NOP seal (National Organic Program) is awarded by the US Department of Agriculture for agricultural products, cosmetics producers are able to advertise their organic products with an NSF/Ansi 305 label. The organisation also cooperates with the NON-GMO Project for raw materials which are not obtained from genetically modified organisms.
ISO 16128
NSF is a US Label for “organic” personal care products, i.e. cosmetics that contain raw materials certified as organic. Since the state-sponsored NOP seal (National Organic Program) is awarded by the US Department of Agriculture for agricultural products, cosmetics producers are able to advertise their organic products with an NSF/Ansi 305 label. The organisation also cooperates with the NON-GMO Project for raw materials which are not obtained from genetically modified organisms.
Nordic Swan
Nordic Swan is the official eco-label of the North European countries Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Iceland. It is now awarded in 60 different categories, including in the cosmetics industry. The focus of the Nordic Ecolabel is on environmental protection, as well as the quality and harmlessness of the products. The label is characterised by strict environmental requirements in all phases of a product lifecycle, as well as strict requirements and restrictions for chemicals. Products must also consist of at least 90% renewable raw materials.
EU Ecolabel
The eco-label of EU Regulation 2014/893/EU for rinse-off cosmetics is awarded for products which meet criteria such as representing a limited risk or no risk for aquatic organisms and being highly bio-degradable. Other criteria include the use of exclusively sustainable palm oil or resource-saving packaging materials.
Pharmacopoeia
A pharmacopoeia is a collection of specifications (monographs). The monographs provide information on the identity, testing, quality and storage of medicinal products, pharmaceutical raw materials and chemicals for pharmaceutical testing. Requirements often relate to three of the largest sets of regulations: Ph.Eur (European Pharmacopoeia), USP (US Pharmacopoeia) and JP (Japanese Pharmacopoeia). Cosmetics producers often test their raw materials according to the relevant pharmaceutical quality standards.
FDA
The “Food and Drugs Administration” regulates the manufacture, sale and marketing of cosmetics products in the USA. A special role is played by products that make health claims, for example sunscreen with a sun protection factor, toothpaste with fluoride or anti-dandruff shampoo. The exact regulations are set out in the “Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act)”.
Special product properties
Vegan
(Vegan Society, V-Label)
The origin of the word “vegan” is attributable to Donald Watson, the founder of the Vegan Society, according to which “Veganism is a philosophy and way of living which seeks to exclude – as far as is possible and practicable – all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose; and by extension promotes the development and use of animal-free alternatives for the benefit of humans, animals and the environment.”
The Vegan Society originates from the United Kingdom and is one the oldest vegan organisations in the world.
However, the V-Label was set up by the European Vegetarian Union. Because so far there is no binding statutory definition of the terms “vegan” and “vegetarian”, the terms are defined by V-Label itself. According to V-Label, food is “vegan” if all ingredients and processing aids of animal origin are excluded at all stages of production and processing, including additives, carriers, aromas and enzymes. Products are vegetarian if they are produced without raw materials from animal carcasses, particularly without meat, gelatine, bones or slaughter fats.
GMO
In the EU the use of genetically modified organisms (GMO) is clearly regulated and its labelling on food and feed products is legally prescribed. However, there is no official labelling requirement for cosmetic products. If you wish, as a consumer, to avoid products with GMO, you must rely on the information provided by manufacturers or specifically purchase certified natural cosmetics. For the production of natural cosmetics that are to be certified as such, the use of raw materials containing GMO is generally prohibited, which means that such products are not separately labelled “GMO-free”.
Outside the EU the declaration requirement is different. In the USA, for example, the use of GMO in food and cosmetics is commonplace. For that reason, in that country products that do not contain GMO are specifically labelled. Those labels are usually also granted by private organisations. One of the best-known labels is granted by the NGO “Non-GMO Project”.
Religious requirements
The best-known religion-related labels are “halal” and “kosher”. These terms mean “permitted” or “suitable” (for consumption), as these regulations originally concern dietary rules. With the development of modern cosmetics, interest in products with those properties increased. Both regulations have in common the rejection of products containing ingredients that originate from pigs. Examples are gelatine or activated charcoal from their bones.
Jewish kashrut and Muslim halal organisations grant their labels for products which have been positively audited, and they can be printed on the products. Vegan ingredients are also significant for certain religious communities.
GRAS
Food additives that are harmless to consume are marked GRAS (“Generally Recognized As Safe”) by the FDA. A product which has been thus approved is exempt from restrictions on daily consumption under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA).
General legal requirements
European Cosmetics Regulation – Regulation (EC) No. 1223/2009
European Cosmetics Regulation – Regulation (EC) No. 1223/2009
Regulation (EC) No. 1223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council is often also referred to simply as the “EU Cosmetics Regulation”. It regulates the use of ingredients in cosmetics products within the EU. The main aim of the EU Cosmetics Regulation is to ensure the safety of cosmetic products. It also requires, for example, that finished cosmetics products or ingredients which are exclusively earmarked for use in cosmetics products must not be tested through animal experiments.
REACH
Regulation (EC) 1907/2006
The REACH Regulation (EC) No. 1907/2006, which came into force in 2007, is directed at all manufacturers and importers of chemical substances and compounds. Some substances, such as medicinal products, polymers, recovered substances or substances in the food sector, are exempt from the registration requirement. However, for most raw materials which are used in cosmetics the principle “no data, no market” applies, and they are thus subject to the REACH Regulation. The regulation harmonises chemicals laws Europe-wide and increases the knowledge base concerning dangers and risks that may be associated with chemical substances. REACH also establishes safe uses of the substances and communicates them to processors and end-consumers.