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After several years of discussions, the major certification agencies in Europe have finally reached an agreement on harmonizing their private standards for natural & organic cosmetics. Soil Association (UK), BDiH (Germany), Ecocert (France), Cosmebio (France), AIAB (Italy) and Ecogarantie (Belgium) have developed common standards for natural and organic cosmetics. The first draft of the new standards has been released for public consultation this week. The final draft will be drawn in January and certification of products will begin in April 2009.

The agreement sets minimum standards for natural cosmetics and organic cosmetics.  However the agencies will still be able to develop separate standards as long as the baselines are met. The move is analogous to what has occurred in the organic food industry where the EU has minimum standards for organic agriculture and food products.

Harmonization of standards is an important development, since the private standards of the agencies involved are the most widely adopted in the natural cosmetics industry. If the new standards receive a high take-up rate, they could possibly pave the way for common global standards.

The lengthy discussions have led to the emergence of new standards in Europe and North America. In Europe, NaTrue is gaining momentum since its initial announcement at the Natural Beauty Summit last year. Its natural & organic cosmetic standards have received the backing of some of the leading international brands. Across the Atlantic, initiatives like NSF, OASIS and NPE are gaining ground.