The group is picking up from the European Commission’s statement of October last year, which noted that an International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standard for natural and organic cosmetics is currently being developed.
Alongside this, according to the EC, DG Health and Consumers (DG SANCO) has established a working group to look at the claims that are currently being used by brands when it comes to cosmetics products.
The working group is looking to identify some claim categories that lend themselves to being defined under specific common criteria.
“The group agreed that its first objective was to develop common general criteria for all types of claims used with respect to cosmetic products, including natural and organic claims. Once general criteria are established, the group will consider whether more specific criteria are necessary for natural and organic claims,” the EC explains in its statement.
Calls for harmonisation
Natrue has called for any future regulatory definition for natural and organic cosmetics that stems from these initiatives to be “appropriate, strict and relevant”, and its latest statement looking to 2017 confirms this stance.
“Natural and organic cosmetic products are still an officially undefined sector of the tightly regulated European industry,” the group says.
"NATRUE will continue to advocate that any future regulatory definition of natural and organic cosmetics must be appropriate, relevant and strict.”
Caution until it’s established
The EC has noted that while the industry works towards such a standard, brands should be cautious about signing up with any European body that advertises its own private standard.
“It seems that some European certification bodies advertise their integrated standards as the European harmonised standard for natural and organic cosmetics,” the Commission explains.
“This practice leads to unfair and misleading information for consumers and disruption of the internal market. Therefore, it cannot be accepted."