The first harmonised standard for organic health and beauty

11 June 2009

The Soil Association is pleased to announce a new EU-wide, harmonised standard for organic health and beauty products.

This is the first common standard in the world that will ensure clarity and transparency for both consumers and the trade at a time when the organic health and beauty market is experiencing extremely significant growth - in 2008 UK sales of organic health and beauty products increased an impressive 69% to £27 million.

Francis Blake, director of Soil Association standards said:
“This new harmonised standard is a real breakthrough for consumers and for the organic health and beauty industry and we hope it will be used as an international blue print. Application to use this standard is open to all certification bodies as of 30 Sept 2009.”

The new ‘COSMOS-standard’ [1] is a result of six years work in collaboration with five other European organisations. [2] It also covers the regulation of ‘natural’ cosmetics. The objective of this new standard is ambitious and goes beyond all current requirements for organic and natural cosmetics. [3]

After an international public consultation of three months (Nov 2008 to Jan 2009), the European Cosmetics Standards Working Group have now published the final COSMOS-standard online: www.cosmos-standard.org

Current organic brands will have a 3-year transition period [up to Sept 2012] if they need to alter formulations and labelling. Any new organic brands will have to adhere to these new standards immediately. [4]
 
For media enquiries please contact:
Clio Turton, senior press officer, cturton@soilassociation.org / 0117 914 2448

Notes to editor:

[1] COSMOS-standard online: www.cosmos-standard.org

[2] Soil Association (UK), BDIH (Germany), BIOFORUM (Belgium), COSMEBIO & ECOCERT (France), and ICEA (Italy).

[3] In the EU, all food and drink must be certified as organic before it can be sold as organic. This regulation does not extend to organic beauty products. As there is no legal definition as to what constitutes an 'organic' beauty product - products labelled as such may vary enormously in the organic content and the other ingredients they contain. A company can label or describe a product as organic even if they only contain tiny amounts of organic ingredients. Carrying the Soil Association symbol or any of the other certification marks involved in the COSMOS scheme shows consumers that the products are independently verified to strict organic standards.

[4] Five reasons to be an organic beauty:
Safety.  Our precautionary principle means that if there is any doubt about an ingredient it is banned - so no parabens, no phthalates and no GM ingredients.
Avoid irritation.  We ban synthetic fragrances, which have been found to cause a third of all cosmetic allergies.
'Cocktail effect'.  Cut down on the products that you and your family use. Much of the concern is about the 'cocktail effect' of chemicals in the different products that we use. Many women are using over 20 different products a day, bombarding themselves with hundreds of different chemicals.
Trust.  Look for the Soil Association symbol on organic products to ensure that they meet our strict organic standards.
No need to compromise.  Delicious balms, gorgeous lotions and beautiful baby products are all widely available and perform so well that there is no need to compromise on performance to become an organic beauty.