Cosmetics require a wide range of substances to ensure diverse and innovative products. Natural and organic cosmetics (NOCs) are no different, except that the palette of ingredients includes not only isolated substances but also natural complex substances (NCSs) like plant extracts (including essential oils).
Last December, the provisional agreement on the revision of the Classification, Labelling, and Packaging Regulation (CLP) was published. A key point for NOCs is the application of mixture classification rules to NCSs. NCSs fall into the definition of substances with more than one constituent (MOCS) and, according to the CLP text, if a MOCS is classified due to its constituent(s), a mixture containing this MOCS is classified based on the percentage of those constituent(s) in the mixture. To this end, the text indicates that the classification of substances for CMR, endocrine disruption, persistency, mobility or bioaccumulation is based on the classified constituent and not on the substance data.
For NCSs, this creates an integral problem since the presence of an unavoidable and irremovable composite could negatively impact the whole NCS. Fortunately, the agreed text allows for a derogation for plant extracts that are not chemically modified, pending a scientific report after 5-years legislative proposal if necessary.
Nevertheless, we have already seen one key NCS, p-cymene (found in ca. 350 NCSs including aromatic plants extracts from thyme and oregano), is under review at ECHA CMR category 1B, which risks a future collision with Article 15 of the existing Cosmetics Regulation and a high impact on the sector overall if the issue of MOCS is not managed appropriately. Official publication in the OJEU is expected later in 2024.
On 27 March 2024, Directive (EU) 2024/825 came into force, amending the existing Unfair Commercial Practices Directive (UPCD). Whilst the UPCD can already be used to address greenwashing, the targeted amendments in Article 6 and 7 (misleading actions and omissions respectively) and additional bans (Annex I “blacklist”) are aimed at facilitating enforcement and levelling the playing field. Specifically, articles 6 and 7 cover the main characteristics of a product – including environmental or social characteristics, the ban on unverified environmental claims related to future performance, and materials necessary for product comparisons.
For the NOCs, the Annex I blacklist is perhaps the most interesting since generic environmental claims (e.g., biodegradable, biobased), claims about the entire product when it concerns only a specific aspect, and the use of voluntary sustainability labels unless based on a third-party certification scheme or established by public authorities are all banned. Although neither natural (nor organic) appears on Annex I, it remains to be seen precisely how Member States may eventually view such claims. Member States have two years to transpose the text to national law with the application of the Directive from 27 September 2026. Since the regulatory scope is horizontal, all sectors are covered although the directionality is B2C.
Given that environmental claims increasingly play an important role in consumer orientation, a robust and complementary framework will support informed decision-making based on reliable, verifiable and comparable information. Ultimately, with two interconnecting anti-greenwashing Directives, consistency between the final texts is crucial to avoid any potential conflict that could derail their joint objective.
