Natural and organic cosmetics certifications: what are we talking about and what are the certification bodies.

It must have happened to you to look at the package of a cosmetic product and see, along with the list of ingredients (INCI), many symbols never seen before, of which you do not know the meaning. Many times, this symbols refer to certification bodies. This detail will definitely help if you want to figure out the validity of the product. Let’s find out how.

Certification bodies.

Soil Association (England), Ecocert (France), USDA (United States), ICEA (Italy), Bioforum (Belgium), BDIH (Germany), are only some of the certification bodies we are talking about. They evaluate both natural and biological cosmetics, protecting them from the confusion of the natural cosmetics market, where getting “scammed” can sometimes be easy.

The reason for this is that it does not exist a real norm within the field and the term “natural cosmetic” can be indistinctly used by companies, even when the product is not natural at all. In the article Caos Beauty we have explored the difficulty of identifying “clean”, natural and eco-friendly products.

Who are these certification bodies? They are large-scale private organizations, completely independent from the producers. A brand that wishes to be certified from these certification bodies will have to meet many quality standards.

1. SOIL ASSOCIATION: English institution which guarantees a strict certification, by examining the whole production process of the brand to certify: from the ingredients supply, until packaging evaluation. They also require information to determine if the products of the company at hand are produced sustainably, respecting the environment. The brand is then checked every year, in order to verify that it is still meeting the required standards.
2. ECOCERT: controlling and certification French institution, with more than 25 years worth of experience. In fact, Ecocert has been the first certification body to develop a standard both for natural and biological cosmetics. During the certification process, Ecocert checks raw material compliance, validates formulas and makes sure that only ingredients derived from renewable sources and treated with eco-friendly processes are used. Finally, they verify if the product package is biodegradable or recyclable.
3. ICEA: the Italian institution ICEA (Institution for Ethic and Environmental Certification) was born in 2000 and it certifies organic products and natural cosmetics on the basis of environmental sustainability criteria, privileging the use of biological ingredients and chemicals of natural origin. It also performs obligatory tests on the finished product and verifies that all claims used by the company are true.
4. USDA ORGANIC: let’s fly to America. This is the regulatory body for the American market that certifies “biological” at multiple levels (“100% Organic“, “Organic“, “Made with Organic ingredients“). It is intended to ensure that the biological products bought by consumers are made, treated and certified according to national organic standards.

The main European certification organizations (including some of those previously mentioned), given the growing need for controlled and certified cosmetics, have worked together to develop Cosmos (Cosmetic organic standard). What is it about?

From January 2017, Cosmos is the new European Standard for organic and natural cosmetic products certifications, to which all partners (Soil Assciation, Ecocert, ICEA, BDIH, CosmeBio, etc.) must adhere.

Cosmos is a international non-profit association registered in Belgium which establishes two different certification levels (one for organic products and another for natural products). From January 2017 on, certified products will have a certification with the Cosmos signature on the package.

There are many guarantees, for example: no GMO ingredient present in the analysed product, no ingredient derived from controversial chemicals, absence of parabens, phthalates, colouring agents, synthetic fragrances, etc.

Read the complete guide of standards guaranteed here: COSMOS Standard

We have seen how each certification body has different levels of certifications, based on the type of product. When we talk about organic certified cosmetic, procedures are stricter and rules are different (a minimum percentage of organic ingredients is guaranteed, limit under which the product cannot be certified as organic).

Important!

Certifications simplify our life in search of safe and natural products and they represent an additional value, an extra guarantee when buying a cosmetic product. However, it would not be right to state that a product without certification is not natural. A brand is free to decide whether or not to certify its products, undergoing different controls performed by indipendent organizations of their choice and giving clients more guarantees. Consequently, we cannot distinguish natural products only according to the certifications obtained.
If a product does not have certifications, we cannot state that it does not meet eco-bio standards and that is a harmful product. These authorities are definitely expensive for small new-born companies or for family-run brands, that are often unable to start the process to be certified.
To evaluate a product then, along with certifications, it is importnat to know very well the ingredients potentially harmful to our health. In the article Ingredients to avoid we have explored the topic. If you are not familiar with it, we advise you to read the article!

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