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What is a “natural” or “organic” cosmetic product?
Natural or “organic” cosmetics contain varying proportions of natural and/or “organic” ingredients.
If the proportion of organic ingredients in a product advertised as organic is less than 100%, this must be indicated.
Furthermore, a cosmetic product can only be described as “natural” or “of natural origin” if its content of natural ingredients or ingredients of natural origin is greater than or equal to 95%. Otherwise, it is advisable to indicate the nature and percentage of natural ingredients. Some products carry the logo of a private certification label, but this is not compulsory.
– A natural ingredient is a product of plant, animal or mineral origin, which has not been transformed, except by traditional mechanical actions, notably for the purpose of extracting the ingredient.
– An ingredient of natural origin has undergone limited chemical transformation.
– An organic ingredient is composed of organic ingredients or raw materials. These elements must be certified by an inspection body approved by the Institut national de l’origine et de la qualité (INAO) or recognized in the European Union.
The water used to formulate a cosmetic product is natural, but it is not “organic” because it is not, by definition, a product of agriculture. It is assimilated to a mineral. As some “fluid” cosmetics contain a lot of water, their final “organic” rate may be significantly reduced on the label, but this does not mean that their composition in organic ingredients has not been optimized.
The case of rehydrated plant ingredients:
Aloe vera is widely used in organic and natural cosmetics. For logistical and cost reasons, it is often supplied in powder form (from dehydrated gel or leaves) before being rehydrated with water.
The list of ingredients shows rehydration water and powder separately, in order of weight.
The organic content of the rehydrated ingredient can be counted as equivalent to that of the fresh ingredient. The organic content of the finished product is therefore not affected by the rehydrated nature of the ingredient.
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The ISO16128 standard:
ISO 16128 is an international standard for natural and organic products.
This two-part standard was drawn up by experts from 40 countries within the framework of ISO, a non-governmental organization that brings together the standards bodies of 163 countries. It harmonizes the definitions of four ingredient categories: organic, of organic origin, natural and of natural origin.
Its aim is not to permit or prohibit the use of an ingredient. It provides definitions and criteria for determining whether an ingredient is natural or organic, of natural or organic origin, mineral or synthetic, and calculation methods for the percentage of organic or natural in a product.
In fact, the international standard ISO 16128 provides a complete and rigorous definition of each category of natural or organic ingredient, based on the origin (natural or organic) of the ingredients and the extraction or transformation process of the ingredient. All over the world, the definitions and criteria for natural and organic ingredients, and the methods of calculation at product level, will be the same.
Determination of Natural and Natural Origin Indices of ingredients according to ISO 16128:
Natural Index:
The Natural Index is a value indicating the extent to which a cosmetic ingredient meets the definition of natural ingredients in ISO 16128-1:2016, Article 2.
This value is assigned to each ingredient in accordance with the following recommendation:
Natural Index = 1: The ingredient meets the definition of natural ingredients. The Natural Index of the water of constitution, that of the reconstitution water, that of the extraction water and that of the formulation water are all considered to be equal to 1.
Natural Index = 0: The ingredient does not meet the definition of natural ingredients.
Natural Origin Index:
The Natural Origin Index is a value indicating the extent to which a cosmetic ingredient meets the definitions of natural ingredients in ISO 16128-1:2016, Article 2, ingredients derived from a natural material in ISO 16128-1:2016, Article 3, or ingredients derived from mineral materials in ISO 16128-1:2016, Article 4.
This value is assigned to each ingredient in accordance with the following recommendation:
Natural Origin Index = 1: The ingredient meets the definition of natural ingredients, water of constitution, reconstitution water, extraction water or formulation water. Natural ingredient extracts involving the use of natural ingredient solvents or derived from a natural material of totally natural origin have a Natural index equal to 1.
0.5 < Natural Origin Index ≤ 1: The ingredient meets the definition of ingredients derived from a natural material or derived from mineral materials. The value is calculated as the ratio of the natural origin fragment, determined by molecular weight, renewable carbon content or any other appropriate method, to the total molecular composition of said ingredient.
Natural Origin Index = 0: The ingredient does not meet the definition of natural ingredients, or ingredients derived from natural materials, or ingredients derived from mineral materials, including those with Natural Origin Indices less than or equal to 0.5.
Determination of the Organic and Organic Origin Indices of ingredients:
– Organic Index:
The Organic Index is a value indicating the extent to which a cosmetic ingredient meets the definition of organic ingredients in ISO 16128-1:2016, 2.3.
This value is assigned to each ingredient in accordance with the following recommendation:
Organic Index = 1: The ingredient meets the definition of organic ingredients, water of constitution or reconstitution water.
Biological Index = 0: The ingredient does not meet the definition of organic ingredients. The Biological Index of the extraction water and that of the formulation water are considered equal to 0.
– Index of Organic Origin
The Organic Origin Index is a value indicating the extent to which a cosmetic ingredient meets the definitions of organic ingredients in ISO 16128-1:2016, 2.3 or ingredients derived from organic material in ISO 16128-1:2016, 3.2.
Index of Organic Origin = 1: The ingredient meets the definition of organic ingredients, water of constitution or reconstitution water.
0 < Organic Origin Index ≤ 1: The ingredient meets the definition of ingredients derived from organic material. The value is calculated as the ratio of the fragment of biological origin, determined by molecular weight, renewable carbon content or any other appropriate method, to the total molecular composition of said ingredient.
Index of Organic Origin = 0: The ingredient does not meet the definition of organic ingredients, nor that of ingredients derived from organic material. The Organic Origin Index of the extraction water and that of the formulation water are considered equal to 0.
Sources :
Document: INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ISO 16128-1 and ISO 16128-2
Cosmetics – Guidelines on technical definitions and criteria for natural and organic cosmetic ingredients and products
Part 1: Definitions of ingredients
Part 2: Criteria for ingredients and products
https://www.economie.gouv.fr/dgccrf/les-fiches-pratiques/cosmetiques-bio-et-naturel
https://www.economie.gouv.fr/dgccrf/laction-de-la-dgccrf/les-enquetes/cosmetiques-la-recherche-du-naturel
https://normalisation.afnor.org/actualites/cosmetiques-naturels-bio-5-questions-pose-norme-volontaire-iso-16128/
https://www.febea.fr/questions-reponses/quest-ce-que-la-norme-iso-16-128#:~:text=La%20r%C3%A9f%C3%A9rence%20ISO%2016128%20sur,a%20la%20possibilit%C3%A9%20d’utiliser