Building Natural Products

By: Eric S. Abrutyn, TPC2 Advisors Ltd., Inc.

Posted: September 29, 2009, from the October 2009 issue of Cosmetics & Toiletries.

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Various organizations including those previously listed, whose Web sites may be found in the concluding references to this article, have developed a list of acceptable and unacceptable renewable ingredients that would meet their standards for natural and organic claims. Also, a number of raw material suppliers have published prototype formulations for use as starting points for natural product formulations.

The development of personal care products for this market requires clear communication regarding whether said products will be positioned as natural—meaning either containing natural ingredients or being safer for the environment; organic and thus meeting a set of specified standards; or renewable, referencing low impact on resources in the environment. In addition, such products should outline the source of feedstock from which their ingredients derived, as well as the renewability and greenness of the source; and safety assurance based on reliable, peer-reviewed science and scientific organizations.

The personal care industry must take a leadership role, as it has for the past 50 years with other issues, to control the misleading association of terms such as natural and organic with the consumer’s expectation of implied safety; the industry must continue in its defense of ingredients with established safety. Reproduction of all or part of this article is strictly prohibited.

References
Send e-mail to tpc2advisors@yahoo.com.
1. www.cosmos-standard.org
2. www.qai-inc.com
3. www.nsf.gov
4. www.ecocert.com
5. www.oasisseal.org
6. www.natrue.org
7. www.goca.ws/organic-certification
8. www.kontrollierte-naturkosmetik.de/e/bdih.htm  
9. www.naturalproductsassoc.org
10. www.certechregistration.com/1_organic_certification.htm