Organic Cosmetics
The issues surrounding “Climate Change” and the implications of environmental damage on the World and on us as individuals have become part of the environmental conscience of our society. The demand for “organic cosmetics“ and environmentally friendly production is steadily increasing. More and more customers are demanding natural, organic or plant-based products made from sustainable and fairly sourced ingredients and that have not been tested on animals.
It is becoming ever harder for the consumer to make informed buying decisions because of the number of certification systems that apply to organic cosmetics. These certification systems follow varying standards, and in addition, several manufacturers have developed their own systems and product nomenclature just to jump on the „green bandwagon“.
Just a few examples: BDIH, Ecocert, NaTrue, FairTrade, Vegan, Cosmeticanalysis (www.cosmeticanalysis.com) etc., a confusing variety of standards for the consumer and the producer. In the end you as a producer of organic cosmetics must decide which standard you are going to follow
Developing truly organic cosmetics is not as easy as most people would think. Formulation options are limited once synthetic thickening agents, stabilisers, emollients and emulsifiers are excluded. An additional challenge is preservation as there are few preservative ingredients that are permitted in organic cosmetics. Customers of organic cosmetics have very high expectations as far as skin-feel, effectiveness and storage-life are concerned, the same as or higher than for traditional cosmetics.