COSMOS signature will become mandatory for all new organic cosmetic products as of 1st January 2007. This European standard will be materialized by a mere mention on labels, but involves changes in the formulations of products and will be applicable worldwide.
The long history of the COSMOS-Standard thus comes to an end. Initiated by five founder members (COSMEBIO, BDIH, Ecocert, ICEA and Soil Association), it aims to harmonize the different existing organic standards.
What’s going to change?
On the label
There will not be great changes regarding the logos: a mere mention will be added underneath the existing labels. For example: the COSMOS ORGANIC approval underneath the Cosmebio logo.
In the formulations
The COSMOS ORGANIC approval logo will be displayed on all cosmetics that meet the following criteria:
• 95% to 100% of the ingredients are naturally sourced (as before)
• 95% to 100% of all plant-based ingredients are organically produced (as before)
• Other ingredients make up no more than 5% of the total product, and come from a restricted list of certified ingredients (as before)
However, what’s new is that two extra criteria are being added, raising the bar to give organic cosmetics tougher requirements than ever:
• The organic content increases, from 10% to 20% of total ingredients
• All ingredients must be biodegradable
‘Don’t rely solely on this overall percentage of 10% or 20%,’ a Cosmebio communiqué says. ‘If you think this level is low, remember that unlike other standards, French standards and the COSMOS standard always indicate the total percentage of water-based ingredients. For example, take a shower gel labelled as containing 10% organic ingredients out of the total ingredients: if you exclude water - because water is not certifiable - that means the gel contains 95% organic ingredients (organic food labelling works in the same way).’
Small mention, high ambitions
The COSMOS label aims to help consumers to products that comply with the same set of organic cosmetic standards from one country to the next. According to Cosmebio, on a global scale, this means that 85% of organically certified cosmetics across the world will carry the COSMOS logo one day. Companies that are members of, and/or certified by the founder members represent today numerous certified products sold across the world: over 2,000 brands distributed throughout more than 50 countries, producing more than 45,000 different cosmetic products.
Today, over 2,000 organically certified cosmetics that already meet the COSMOS requirements can already be found in France, Italy, Germany, England, Australia, Korea, Turkey…
‘So the future of COSMOS looks bright!’ , concludes Cosmébio.
