At Cosmetic Valley’s 22nd Congress on Regulatory Issues - Fragrance & Cosmetics, Florence Ricaud, General Secretary and Technical Manager of Ingrecos, the French branch of the cosmetics ingredients union EFfCI, and Céline Huet, Regulatory Affairs Manager at L’Oréal, in charge of compliance strategies linked to regulatory changes and a member of Cosmetics Europe’s “Microplastics” Task Force, presented the REACH restriction on microplastics, using basic rules and practical case studies.
The European Commission has adopted Regulation (EU) 2023/2055, which introduces measures to limit microplastics intentionally added to consumer products under EU chemicals legislation, and which came into force on 17 October 2023. These new rules aim to prevent the release of around half a million tonnes of microplastics into the environment. They target synthetic polymer microparticles, alone or intentionally added in mixtures.
The regulatory framework of the European restriction
There is no list of microplastics, but there is a definition that must be respected.
The definition
A synthetic polymer microparticle (SPM) is a solid polymer which meets both of the following conditions:
• it is contained in particles of which it constitutes at least 1% by mass, or it forms a continuous surface coating of the particles,
• at least 1% by weight of these particles, for spherical particles, have dimensions less than or equal to 5 millimetres and, for fibres, a length less than or equal to 15 millimetres and a length to diameter ratio greater than 3.
Certain substances are excluded from this definition:
• natural polymers, such as cellulose,
• polymers without a carbon atom in their structure, such as Polythiazyl,
• polymers that are soluble …
