Nsf + NaTrue develop first American national standard for natural cosmetics

Personal care in the United States will finally have a national standard for natural personal care products that is accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).

NSF International, the U.S. testing and certification organization committed to protecting the environment and public health, will lead the development of the new American standard for Natural Cosmetics on the basis of our  NaTrue criteria ( NaTrue Standard Level 1).

The partnership marks an important step towards international harmonisation and a globally recognized definition of natural in personal care products.

It will eliminate confusion among consumers and make life considerably easier for producers of natural cosmetics who wish to sell their products both sides of the Atlantic, or indeed worldwide.

"There is no globally recognised definition of 'natural' in personal care products," says Julie Tyrrell,  NaTrue's Director General. "That is why NaTrue set out four years ago to define strict criteria that are in agreement with consumers' expectations towards authentic natural cosmetics."

"It was always important to us that we partner with those that share our high standards of quality and integrity so that people worldwide can enjoy Natural Cosmetics truly worthy of that name. In this regard, our partnership with NSF International is also recognition for the hard work that we put into the development of our criteria.”

In 2010, NaTrue already signed an equivalency agreement for the NaTrue Level 2 and the NSF/ANSI 305 standard.

This concerns products that are certified as Natural Cosmetics with Organic Portion, referred to as products 'containing organic' under NSF/ANSI 305.  NaTrue and NSF have now signed an agreement to harmonize the criteria for these two standards in addition to their cooperation on the new American standard for natural personal care.

NSF International will develop the new natural personal care standard utilizing a consensus-based process that allows for balanced participation from key stakeholder groups, including regulators, personal care manufacturers, trade associations, product retailers and other stakeholders from the natural personal care products community.

 NaTrue and NSF are holding a joint event on their cooperation during the Biofach / Vivaness fair in Nürnberg, Germany next week: Thursday, 17 February, 10 am in Room Kiew (on the Nürnberg Fair grounds).

NSF International, an independent organization, certifies products and writes standards for food, water and consumer goods to minimize adverse health effects and protect the environment (www.nsf.org). Founded in 1944, NSF is committed to protecting human health and safety worldwide and operates in more than 120 countries. NSF is a World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Food and Water Safety and Indoor Environment.

Accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), NSF has developed more than 70 American national standards using this consensus-based process, including NSF/ANSI Standard 305: Personal Care Products Containing Organic Ingredients.  Additional services include NSF Training and Education, safety audits for the food and water industries, dietary and nutritional supplement certification, management systems registrations (e.g. ISO 14001) delivered through NSF International Strategic Registrations and sustainable business services through NSF Sustainability.

 NaTrue is the International Natural and Organic Cosmetics Association based in Brussels and promotes authentic natural and organic cosmetics worldwide since May 2008. The  NaTrue label sets a high standard of quality and integrity so people worldwide may enjoy natural cosmetics truly worthy of that name. More than 1300 products have already been certified under the  NaTrue label, ranging from skin care to make-up and the certification of raw materials was also recently launched. Discover the  NaTrue product world at www.naTrue.org/products