Organic and natural ingredients for cosmetics
The COSMOS international standard defines strict criteria and certification rules for organic and natural cosmetic products and ingredients. It covers in detail all aspects of the sourcing, manufacture, marketing, and control of cosmetic products. The COSMOS-standard is managed by a not-for-profit, international independent association and guided by four core principles:
- Promoting the use of products from organic agriculture, and respecting biodiversity
- Using natural resources responsibly, and respecting the environment
- Using processing and manufacturing that are clean and respectful of human health and the environment
- Integrating and developing the concept of “green chemistry”
The strict rules and requirements of the international standard provide a common framework for the industry, reducing the need for multiple certifications or ingredient approvals, and providing a more coherent accreditation for consumers on final products.
Green Guide
Types of certification: Natural and Organic
Trends covering natural and organic products often overlap, hence why it’s increasingly important to distinguish between the two claims. COSMOS offers two signatures for final cosmetic products:
COSMOS Organic – available for products that comply with the COSMOS-standard in all respects and contain the required percentages of organic ingredients
COSMOS Natural - available for products that comply with the COSMOS-standard in all respects, but do not meet the required minimum organic percentages
More information on the COSMOS-standard and certification can be found on their website.
Ingredient certification and raw material approval
There are two signatures for ingredients and raw materials available: COSMOS Certified and COSMOS Approved. The COSMOS Certified signature is available for physically and chemically processed agro-ingredients with required level of organic content. The COSMOS Approved signature is available for non-organic raw materials that are approved for use in cosmetic products certified to the COSMOS standard.
What does ingredient certification mean?
For all certified products, ingredients must meet the strict criteria of the standard and respect the principles of green chemistry. The production, manufacturing and handling of all ingredients are also evaluated to ensure they meet the standard. The whole supply chain is verified, providing a guarantee of the quality and integrity of the ingredients, or final products.
At Croda, we naturally turned to COSMOS for the approval and certification of our natural ingredients. We have two types of ingredients in our portfolio:
- COSMOS Organic Certified – ingredients that contain a minimum of raw materials from organic culture, as laid out in the standard
- COSMOS Natural Approved – ingredients from natural origin that do not contain enough organic material to be certified organic, but adhere to criteria laid out in the standard
Our Crodarom and Alban Mueller manufacturing sites, who are our experts in botanical extract ingredients, are COSMOS certified, which has enabled us to provide organic certified ingredients obtained from organic cultivated plants and eco-friendly processes.
Crodarom manufacturing site
COSMOS Natural Approved ingredients
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Sustainable Sourcing Ingredients
Natural ingredients are at the heart of our products, with 67% of our raw materials coming from renewable natural sources. It is our duty to make every effort to preserve these resources and the people who rely on them.
Learn moreSustainable product innovation
We know that product innovation and sustainability go hand in hand. We assess the everyday impact of our products in two ways: intrinsic, referring to attributes such as renewable raw material content or “cradle-to-gate” carbon footprint; and extrinsic, which refers to the social, environmental and financial impacts our products have in use or as they biodegrade at the end of their life.
Learn moreISO 16128
ISO 16128 natural, mineral and organic cosmetic ingredientsDiscover Croda’s range of ISO 16128 natural, mineral and organic ingredients, defined in accordance with the standard.
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