Our
Certifications and
Quality standards.
We offer our customers products of the highest quality. Because it is extremely important for us to have a trusting relationship with our customers and suppliers, we support the desire of our partners and consumers for independent assessments and certifications. We want to use these external evaluations to obtain additional confirmation of our high standards of quality and sustainability. We have our products tested and certified by the following organisations.
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 (Great Britain)
A distinction is made between certification and approval.
- For conventional, natural raw materials without a significant organic content, the term "COSMOS Approval" is usually obtained.
- A certification for raw materials with organic content is called "COSMOS certified".
- Cosmetic end products can either be certified as "COSMOS natural" or "COSMOS organic". The latter refers to end products with organic content.
NaTrue
The "International Natural and Organic Cosmetics Association" is a non-profit organisation that was founded in 2007 by leading natural cosmetics producers in Europe. It can be seen as a kind of self-regulation organisation with strict guidelines for the naturalness of cosmetic products. The NATRUE seal is one of the strictest guidelines for cosmetics and guarantees fulfilment of the highest standards.
Certification is particularly common for end products. However, it is also possible to obtain "NATRUE Approval" status for cosmetic raw materials. Raw materials can be NATRUE-compliant if they only contain substances that are categorised as natural, nature-identical and near-natural.
RSPO
The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil is an initiative that promotes the cultivation and commercialisation of sustainable palm oil. Palm oil is the world's most important vegetable oil. It is extracted from the fruits and seeds of the oil palm and therefore provides two different oils with their own characteristics. Although the yield per hectare is the highest of all commercial oil plants, the area under cultivation is limited to the species-rich tropics. It is therefore particularly important to organise the cultivation of oil palms in a sustainable way.
With sustainable palm oil, the areas under cultivation are not increased through overexploitation, labour rights standards are observed and the use of pesticides is reduced. One of the most important certificates for this is the RSPO seal. It was founded in 2004 on the initiative of the WWF and brings together many members of the supply chain and NGOs. Compliance with the strict requirements is monitored annually by means of audits. Other labels co-operate with and complement the RSPO, such as the ASD (Action for Sustainable Derivatives).
Check our progress at www.rspo.org
Organic seal
Organic" or biological is used to label raw materials that have been grown and produced sustainably and in an environmentally friendly manner in accordance with special specifications. The clearest distinction from conventional production is the absence of pesticides during cultivation.
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
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 the GfaW (Gesellschaft für angewandte Wirtschaftsethik UG). It identifies organic and natural cosmetics whose ingredients come from at least 95 per cent controlled organic cultivation. It is a strict natural cosmetics label, even if it is less widespread than NATRUE, for example. NCS distinguishes between four variants of the label:
- 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. In addition, the ingredients should be classified as GRAS (Generally recognised as safe).
NSF / Ansi 305
NSF is a US label for "organic" personal care products, i.e. cosmetics that contain certified organic raw materials. As the government NOP seal (National Organic Program) is awarded by the US Department of Agriculture for agricultural products, cosmetics manufacturers have the opportunity to advertise their organic products with an NSF/Ansi 305 label. The organisation also cooperates with the NON GMO Project for raw materials that are not derived from genetically modified organisms.
ISO 16128
ISO 16128 is an international standard for determining the proportion of natural raw materials in a cosmetic product. It is not a seal that can be awarded by an organisation or certification body. The value of naturalness (Natural Index) and natural origin (Natural Origin Index) is given in numbers between 0 and 1, with 0 indicating the absence of natural ingredients and 1 indicating the presence of exclusively natural raw materials. In addition, a value for organic products is defined in the same way (Organic Index and Organic Origin Index).
The index provides a helpful framework for manufacturers of cosmetic products to define the naturalness of a product.
Nordic Swan
Nordic Swan is the official eco-label of the northern European countries of Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Iceland. It is now awarded in 60 different categories, including the cosmetics sector. The Nordic Ecolabel focuses on environmental protection and the quality and safety of products. The label is characterised by strict environmental requirements in all phases of a product's life cycle as well as strict requirements and limits for chemicals. In addition, products must consist of at least 90 per cent renewable raw materials.
EU Ecolabel
The EU Regulation 2014/893/EU ecolabel for rinse-off cosmetics is awarded to products that, among other things, pose no or low risk to aquatic organisms and are highly biodegradable. Other criteria include the use of only 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 refer to three of the largest regulations: Ph.Eur (European Pharmacopoeia), USP (US Pharmacopoeia) and JP (Japanese Pharmacopoeia). Cosmetics manufacturers often test their raw materials according to the corresponding pharmaceutical quality requirements.
FDA
The Food and Drugs Administration regulates the manufacture, sale and marketing of cosmetic products in the USA. Products that are also sold with health claims, such as sun cream with a sun protection factor, toothpaste with fluoride or anti-dandruff shampoo, play a special role. The exact guidelines are set out in the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act).
Special product properties
Vegan
(Vegan Society, V-Label)
The term "vegan" was originally coined by Donald Watson, the founder of the Vegan Society. According to him, "Veganism is a philosophy and way of life that, as far as possible and practicable, excludes all forms of exploitation of and cruelty to animals for food, clothing or other purposes and promotes the development and use of animal-free alternatives for the benefit of animals, humans and the environment."
The Vegan Society originates from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and is one of the oldest vegan organisations in the world.
The V-Label, on the other hand, was created by the European Vegetarian Union. As there is currently no binding legal definition of the terms "vegan" and "vegetarian", the terms are defined by V-Label itself. According to this definition, food is "vegan" if all ingredients and processing aids of animal origin are excluded at all stages of production and processing, including additives, carriers, flavourings and enzymes. Vegetarian, on the other hand, are products that are produced without raw materials from animal carcasses, in particular without meat, gelatine, bones and slaughter fats.
GMO
(Genetically modified organisms)
In the EU, the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) is clearly regulated and their labelling in food and animal feed is required by law. However, there is no official labelling requirement for cosmetic products. If consumers want to avoid products containing GMOs, they must rely on the manufacturer's self-declaration or specifically buy certified natural cosmetics. For the production of natural cosmetics that are to be certified as such, the use of raw materials containing GMOs is generally prohibited and therefore not labelled separately as "GMO-free".
The declaration obligation is different outside the EU. In the USA, for example, the use of GMOs in food and cosmetics is widespread. This is why products that do not contain GMOs are specially labelled there. These labels are usually also awarded by private organisations. One of the best-known labels is awarded by the NGO "Non-GMO Project".
Kosher / Halal
The best-known religion-related labels are "Halal" and "Kosher". These terms mean "permitted" or "suitable" (for consumption), as these regulations originally stood for dietary restrictions. With the development of modern cosmetics, interest in products with these characteristics increased. Common to both regulations is, for example, the rejection of products that contain ingredients from pigs. Examples are gelatine or activated charcoal from their bones.
Jewish kashrut and Muslim halal organisations award their labels, which may be printed on the products if they have been positively audited. Vegan ingredients are also important for certain religious communities.
GRAS
GRAS - "Generally Recognised As Safe" - is the FDA's designation for food additives that are safe to consume. A substance authorised in this way is exempt from the restrictions on daily intake under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA).
General legal requirements
European Cosmetics Regulation
Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009
Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council is often simply referred to as the "EU Cosmetics Regulation". It regulates the use of ingredients in cosmetic products within the EU. The main objective of the EU Cosmetics Regulation is the safety of cosmetic products. It also stipulates, for example, that finished cosmetic products or ingredients intended exclusively for use in cosmetic products may not be tested on animals.
REACH
Regulation (EC) 1907/2006
REACH Regulation (EC) No. 1907/2006, which came into force in 2007, is aimed at all manufacturers and importers of chemical substances and mixtures. Some substances such as pharmaceuticals, polymers, recovered substances or substances in the food sector are exempt from registration. However, the guiding principle of "no data, no market" applies to most raw materials used in cosmetics and they are therefore also subject to the REACH Regulation. The regulation standardises chemicals legislation throughout Europe and increases the level of knowledge about hazards and risks that can be posed by chemical substances. REACH also defines safe uses of substances and communicates these to processors and end users.
