A FOR COMPANIES

 Nowadays, everyone is concerned with what they eat. But isn’t what we put on our SKIN just as important? It   seems as many companies are claiming to use natural or organic ingredients in their products; but HOW do we know they are?

 It was in my last edition of WWD where I came across a possible answer to my dilemma and it comes from the European Cosmetics Standards Working Group.  

Formed 6 years ago by organizations from 6 European health conscious countries (ICEA Italy, BDIH Germany, Bioforum Belgium, Cosmebio/Ecocert France, Soil Association United Kingdon), COSMOS will introduce common standards for natural and organic beauty products on March 30^th, 2009.

The main objectives of the COSMOS group- according to their website-is to establish “a sustainable development that would reconcile economic progress, social responsibility and maintain the natural balance of the planet”. Their website allows you to see what regulations and criteria they look for in order for beauty products to have the privilege of being labeled by their group.  With the use of simple rules governed by the principles of prevention and safety at all levels,  from production of raw materials to the distribution of finished products, the cosmetics sector hopes to change the way the cosmetic industry is organized. Click to check out the rules of qualification by the COSMOS.

With these new regulations and caution occurring in the European beauty market, it is almost sure that cosmetics & organic fanatics will prefer European brands that comply with the regulation as opposed to other beauty products which lack such a system.  And here comes my second question: are we willing to pay more for responsible, healthy, cosmetic products that come with the COSMOS label?  If the answer is yes, what is this going to do to the American products that are not labeled?  Should we trust implicitly their producers that their cosmetics are organic or natural? If you have an answer,  let us know.