After the Article 2 of the Cosmetics Regulation , a distributor is "any natural or legal person in the supply chain, other than the manufacturer or the importer, who makes a cosmetic product available on the Community market".

The distributor may be the responsible person:
• where he places a cosmetic product on the market under his name or trademark,
• where he modifies a product already placed on the market in such a way that compliance with the applicable requirements may be affected. The translation of information relating to a cosmetic product already placed on the market shall not be considered as a modification of that product of such a nature that compliance with the applicable requirements of the Regulation may be affected.

Also see
• The Responsible person sheet , in the Cosmetic glossary
• The Cosmetics Regulation: The Responsible Person article, in The Cosmetics Regulation file, on Pro Section.