NATRUE updates standard for 2021 to make certification clearer for consumers

The NATRUE standard for natural and organic cosmetics and cosmetic raw materials has announced updates for 2021.

Coming into effect 1 January, new criteria will involve a simplification of NATRUE’s certification levels, among other changes.

To make things more digestible for consumers, NATRUE is streamlining its three certification levels to two: natural or organic. In line with this, the body has also adapted formulation requirements.

New finished products will be certified as either ‘natural’ or ‘organic’, while products certified under the soon to be phased out ‘natural with organic portion’ can still be identified as such until the product’s certification expires.

NATRUE has also stressed the importance of providing clearer labelling and claims for consumers to avoid misleading them and has revised its Label Usage Guidelines for using the NATRUE label on certified products.

Palm oil & raw materials update
Moreover, as a new member of the Round Table for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), NATRUE now requires that, where possible, natural or derived natural substances from palm oil and palm kernel oil come from RSPO or other certified sustainable supply chains.

Here, as outlined in Annex 3 of the standard, ‘Mass Balance’ quality is the minimum requirement, while ‘Segregated’ and ‘Identity Preserved’ options are preferred, says NATRUE, and only certified organic palm oil is an exception to the RSPO certification requirement under NATRUE criteria.

NATRUE’s new approval scheme for raw materials was launched last February and, since then, more than 170 raw materials have been NATRUE-approved.

In its 2021 updates, NATRUE stressed that all raw materials presently used in NATRUE-certified products will have a transitional period of 24 months (until 31 January 2022) to be either certified or approved.