Transforming the EU economy for a sustainable future: this is the ultimate objective of the European “Green Deal”. An ambitious plan whose “chemical substances” component will profoundly modify the regulatory environment of cosmetic products. From the revision of the REACH and CLP Regulations to the implications on the Cosmetics Regulation, Sammy Drissi Amraoui, REACH Restrictions Officer at the Directorate General for Risk Prevention at the French Ministry of Ecological Transition, presented the key points of these reforms during the Cosmetic Valley Perfumes & Cosmetics Congress which took place on December 1st and 2nd, 2021.
“With the aim of being a climate-neutral continent and fighting against environmental degradation, the European Commission proposed in 2009 the Green Deal, which it has developed under several headings, one of which in particular, the”Zero Pollution for a Non-Toxic Environment” plan focuses mainly on chemicals and their impact on the environment,“ introduced Sammy Drissi Amraoui.
Member States supported this Commission initiative and five axes were defined:
• Supporting innovation to develop safer products
• Banning toxic chemicals unless they are essential and have no substitute
• Limiting exposure to products that are harmful to the hormonal system and to products with combined toxic effects
• Improving laws and simplify procedures to assess risks
• Setting an example for a toxic-free world
The European Council adopted these conclusions and proposed two additional principles:
• Avoiding the inclusion of toxic substances in products at the design stage, instead of controlling them on the market afterwards
• Allowing the most harmful chemicals only if they are necessary for health, safety or the good functioning of society
The chemical strategy
“It is important to remember that this strategy, although it is concerned with the environmental impact of chemicals, is first and foremost an industrial …
