As the European Union works towards making cosmetics and personal care
products some of the safest and most ethical in the world, European
ingredients suppliers are finding they have their work cut out as part
of efforts to achieve these targets.
Between REACH and the EU Cosmetics Regulation, as well as the proposed
phasing out of animal testing, many ingredients suppliers are finding
themselves fighting an eternal battle to meet the latest compliance
deadlines.
Indeed, regulation has become such an important industry topic, the online journal that I edit, CosmeticsDesign-Europe.com,
recently updated its news categories to provide a dedicated category
for Regulation & Safety - an initiative that reflects the increasing
volume of news covering this crucial area.
REACH: phase two is next
In December last year many ingredients and fine chemical suppliers
sighed with relief after meeting the deadline for the first phase of
REACH compliance by registering all necessary chemical substances with
the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA).
However, many companies of those are now finding themselves repeating
the process to invest more time, effort and financial resources to
comply with phase two of REACH, which concerns all substances supplied
at less than 100 tons per annum. The compliance deadline is June 1,
2013.
Additional to REACH, the EU Cosmetics Regulation has been designed as a
more cohesive update to the 1976 EU Cosmetics Directive. Important
deadlines for the registration of products will come in January 2012,
while full compliance should be achieved by the beginning of 2013.
Dr. Annelie Struessmann, technical director at advisory and training
organisation CONUSBAT, will be holding a workshop as part of the
in-cosmetics seminar programme on the morning of March 29 to highlight
some of the key areas suppliers will be working towards, including
toxicological, dermatological and microbiological compliance.
Amending the EU Cosmetics Directive
But as if REACH and the new Cosmetics Regulation were not enough,
another key area concerning regulatory changes is the proposed ban on
testing cosmetic and personal care ingredients on animals.
Under the Cosmetics Directive of 2009 there is both a testing ban on
ingredients in the European Union and a marketing ban on any product
containing ingredients tested on animals.
However, the marketing ban was introduced in a staggered fashion, which
means that some specific tests are not scheduled to be banned until
2013, leaving industry racing to come up with alternative solutions.
From whatever angle you look at it, it is a virtual given that no
ingredients company operating in Europe will be able to escape any of
these regulatory issues.
Talk to anyone that has had first hand involvement in this process and
their advice to you will probably go somewhere on the lines of: “Start
preparing. Yesterday!”