Misleading labels - how to read them

Certification:

As strange as it may sound, not all people still know that for a cosmetics brand to be organic or bio, it must be certified by one of the bio certifying organizations. Examples of these are SOIL Association – England, EcoCert – France, BDIHВ – Germany and the newest one, based in Belgium but pan-European: COSMOS Standard. Without such a certificate, a brand cannot claim to be organic. We live in such times… It’s not like before, when grandma’s garden was completely eco, and the neighbor’s cow gave organic milk without a certificate…

Labeling:

It turns out that even in good old England, there are discrepancies between what is written on the labels and what the product actually contains! Back in April 2017, a report circulated by The Soil Association claimed that consumers were being misled by product labels. Data revealed that the market for organic health and beauty products grew by more than 20% in 2017, and its value in the UK was estimated at around £61.2 million.

The report states that non-organic certified ingredients, linked to health problems, were found in products claiming to be entirely natural!

69% of the people surveyed, asked about the report’s findings, responded that misleading labels should be subject to legal sanctions, and 72% of people said they would lose trust in a brand that claimed to be organic certified when it was not true.

In this sector, claims of sustainability, efficacy, and origin are met with increasing consumer demand for transparency and trust, and this Soil Association report highlights organic cosmetics as a key area where this can be observed.

Warning - Misleading labels:

Honestly, when I read the report, I felt a little relieved… I was glad that we are not alone in the chaos that reigns with organic, natural, certified, and licensed ingredients, labels, packaging, advertisements, brands, companies, and claims…

Needless to say, the same EU rules apply in our country, and if we want something to be done right, we must follow and meet these requirements. So, since it’s quite difficult for anyone to understand what the mandatory elements of a cosmetic product label are, we decided to describe them here. Short and clear. These are the elements that must be present on the label for the product to be freely sold on the market. And this is only from the side of the RHI and the cosmetic business. From the side of a registered company, taxes, and others – that’s another matter.

Mandatory elements:

• Product name;
• Manufacturer's name and contact details;
• Product content according to INCI (International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients). This means that all ingredients must be listed with their Latin names in descending order. The list ends with the allergens contained in the ingredients. This is often the key to whether someone is "real" or not. If the content is "pure water from nature, pomegranate extract, and a sprig of love," that means – no! If the content is: coconut oil, shea butter, essential oil of… and… – it still means "no," because these are not the Latin names of the ingredients!
• How to use and store the product;
• Batch number, which allows traceability in case something happens;
• Expiration date.

That's it!

Very often, however, some of these seemingly few elements are missing. Only then can we be sure that the cosmetic product we use or hold in our hands has met all the requirements to be freely sold on the European market. And this has nothing to do with its certification as organic or bio!

If you find this topic interesting, check out our shop to see how ingredients are correctly listed, here. Share your opinion on the topic and your observations from the stores around you.