Cosmetics in a toxic-free environment - public consultation launched

On 4 October, the European Commission launched a public consultation on a roadmap for the Revision of the Cosmetic Products Regulation.

This initiative comes in the context of the European Green Deal which sets a high ambition for a toxic-free environment leading to zero pollution. In addition, the revised Regulation should align with the objectives of the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability (CSS), adopted on 14 October 2020. The CSS outlines the Commission’s strategy for the sustainable and safe use of chemicals and aims to better protect human health and the environment as well as boost innovation for safe and sustainable chemicals.

To that end, through the review of the Cosmetic Products Regulation, the impact assessment addresses different policy options:

1. In coordination with the CSS, the public consultation considers introducing the generic approach to risk management and the essential uses concept.

2. In coordination with the “One Substance, One Assessment” approach, the public consultation considers reattributing assessments of substances used in cosmetics to an EU Agency to increase effectiveness, efficiency and coherence of the assessments and make the best use of available expertise and resources.

3. The review of the definition of nanomaterials to ensure coherent terminology across chemicals legislation.

4. Information provided though specific product label will also be considered.

Considering the above, the Cosmetic Products Regulation will be subject to a targeted revision, alongside other chemicals legislation, including the REACH Regulation and the Classification, Labelling and PackagingRegulation. Via the review, the European Commission aims to focus on various actions and potential measures to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the current rules on cosmetic products.

The Cosmetic Products Regulation applies to all cosmetic products made available on the EU market. The expected changes are therefore likely to impact the industry through increased costs due to the implementation of stricter rules on most harmful chemicals, the preparation of exemption dossiers and thegeneration of safety data, and the need for reformulation of cosmetic products. On the other hand, it might reduce costs, for instance on nanomaterials and through improvements in the risk assessment and management of harmful substances.

This roadmap is open for feedback for until 1 November. To read more, please click here.