Natural and organic cosmetics still not clearly defined, says study

The conclusion of an investigation of 20 products on the German cosmetics market by the Hamburg-based consumer organisation Verbraucherzentrale Hamburg (VH) has found that "bio" designations currently applied to many cosmetics products are not clearly defined in legal terms, and this may explain why consumers are offered so much misleading information

The organisation says that in many cases analysis discloses an absence of the claimed biological or "natural" ingredient.

While the "bio" designation is clearly defined for foodstuffs, the cosmetics consumer is faced with varying labels and concepts, largely because the companies involved cannot agree on unified labeling and legislation is currently silent on the subject. VH says that alongside the pseudo-biocosmetics stands the genuine natural cosmetics market, though even here consumers have problems with confusing labeling and varying manufacturing norms.

The organisation recommends that in the short-term companies marketing natural cosmetics should reach agreement on unified labeling, such as the NaTrue label which is in widespread use, and that legislators should sort out cosmetics legislation together with the establishment of independent monitoring.