Certifications in the cosmetics industry
Certifications are one possible way to check a brands standards. Dr Barbara Olioso, the Green Chemist, talks about the importance of these certifications and how they influence the consumers.
COSSMA: Basics first: What exactly is considered as a certification in the cosmetics market??
Dr Barbara Olioso: Certification has 3 levels: self-certification, second party and third party certification. The first one applies when one brand self-declares compliance with a certain standard, for example the ISO 16128 for natural content. The second party certification applies when the standard owner verifies the compliance with the standard, via documents checks, and as a result of that the brand shows the standard logo. The third party certi- fication means there is a certification body validating the standard compliance via premises inspection on top of the documents one. The latter is more impartial as the owner of the standard is not involved in the verification process.
How important are certain certifications for the cosmetics industry? Why?
There is a great desire in consumers for sustainability benefits in cosmetics, however there is also great mistrust as greenwashing is rampant, so certifications offer a shortcut to a trustworthy choice. The number of certified finished products and even ingredients keep on increasing, year after year and even Amazon requires beauty products in the climate pledge friendly category to have certifications in order to qualify. When a retailer like Amazon asks for certifications it shows the growing importance certifications are having in the market place.
- What effect does “greenwashing“ have on the credibility of such certifications?
The more greenwashing, the more consumers and retailers will look for certified products.
- Which are the most important certifications?
That is a great question! In the industry I see Natrue and Cosmos as the main certifications for naturalness, but there are new standards appearing for renewable farming (third party) and microbiome friendly (second party). Other standards I like are fair for life and PEFC (programme for the endorsement of forest certification) as my lab- oratory cabin was built with wood certified according to this standard.
