What Kind of “Fragrance” Do You Want?
“Fragrance” is defined in law and may also be certified as made in specific ways as described below. The certification is what allows a cosmetic brand to make specific sustainability claims. If you want to go beyond the limits of the standard, you can do that by setting brand specific internal standards.
Government Laws and Regulations
US: The FDA Regulation: Under U.S. regulations, fragrance and flavor ingredients can be listed simply as “Fragrance” or “Flavor.” There is no legal obligation to disclose the fragrance ingredients
EU: The Regulation (Cosing): Parfum is the term for ingredient labelling used to identify that a product contains a material or a combination of materials normally added to a cosmetic to produce or to mask a particular odor. According to Article 19 of the Cosmetics Regulation, 'Perfume and aromatic compositions and their raw materials shall be referred to by the terms ‘parfum’ or ‘aroma’ and must meet the requirements of the Safety Assessment Program (1223/2009). Full ingredients disclosure is required to the EU authority.
China: All cosmetic products must be licensed with proof of safety for both ingredients and for the finished products. One may apply for this through an agent to the Chinese authority or may submit an Annex 14 with all safety information.
State of California: California requires companies to report harmful ingredients used in cosmetics. Additionally they make available the California Safe Cosmetic Program (CSCP) Product Database.
Private Standards
- ISO 9235 is an international standard that specifies the terms and definitions relating to aromatic natural raw materials. Aromatic natural raw materials are defined as raw materials of vegetal or microbiological origin. The documents is available for a fee.
- COSMOS Organic or COSMOS Natural certifies that the origin of the aroma ingredients are naturally derived and produced using Green Chemistry. Their standard mostly prohibits petrochemicals however it has been noted that they allow certain petrochemical moieties. This Standard was designed by 4 or 5 large EU brands. Certification is "organic" or "natural".
- NaTrue also certifies organic and natural cosmetic and aroma ingredients. This standard prohibits all petrochemical inputs. NaTrue is great at responding to users of their Standard.
- NSF-305 “Contains Organic” This is a “70% organic content” standard administered through NSF International. The remaining 30% has specific restrictions. You can buy this standard. It is generally for cosmetics and also covers the fragrances used.
If you have any further questions or need regulatory consultation, please reach out to our team. We have been helping our customers sort out claims, and best ingredients to use that matches their ethos for 20+ years. You can email sales@ohohorganic.com for more information.
