Regulation can be a contentious issue. Too much and product development may be stymied. Too little and health and safety may be compromised. At the recent Cosmetics Business Regulatory Summit (held in Brussels on 18 June and covered for Cosmetic News Weekly by Brand Manager Chris McLeod), the topic came under the spotlight – with a common concern being the challenges faced by brands in meeting the varying regulations around the world.
In the Asia Pacific, for example, there are eight main markets (Australia, New Zealand, China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, India and the ASEAN countries), all with different regulations regarding labelling, testing, ingredients and hygiene. According to Australian cosmetic/cosmeceutical R&D scientist Ric Williams, it can take up to five years to get a simple cream into sale in Japan, while China has introduced new labelling requirements with around 8,000 new chemicals on its list.
Not yet a Subscriber?
This is a small extract of the full article which is available ONLY to premium content subscribers. Click below to get premium content on Cosmetics Business.
Subscribe now Already a subscriber? Sign in here.