Certification and Registration
Trends in Bio-based Certification for Cosmetics and Personal Care Products
Category:
USDA BioPreferred Program for Biobased Products
Natural, green, and environmentally friendly cosmetics and personal care products are no longer just a temporary trend; they represent a significant transformation across the industry. According to authoritative market analysis, the global natural and organic personal care market is expected to reach US$22 billion by 2024. As consumers worldwide increasingly seek plant-based ingredients in various aspects of daily life, particularly in the cosmetics sector, demand for natural botanical ingredients and environmentally friendly packaging continues to grow.
Consumers are increasingly looking for eco-friendly skincare products containing natural, “bio-based” ingredients, as well as products supported by certifications and environmental labels. To meet this demand, manufacturers are developing formulations containing bio-based ingredients. However, how can these claims be verified?
Determining the bio-based content of a product is an effective marketing and communication tool that helps companies demonstrate their environmental performance and comply with bio-based eco-labeling requirements. Consumers are also becoming increasingly concerned about potentially misleading environmental claims and are seeking reliable verification of bio-based statements. To verify the use of bio-based materials in raw materials and packaging, cosmetic manufacturers often pursue bio-based certifications. Certified cosmetics and personal care products can be categorized as follows:
Based on Active Ingredients
● Vitamins and derivatives
● Ceramides
● Peptides
● Resveratrol
● Potassium sorbate
● Bio-succinic acid
● Hyaluronic acid
● Glycerin
● Creatine
● Alpha hydroxy acid
Application-Based
● Skin Care and Sun Protection
● Hair Care
● Makeup and Cosmetics
● Perfume
In addition, many countries have introduced regulations restricting the use of certain synthetic ingredients in cosmetics and personal care products. For example:
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has prohibited the use of several harmful substances in cosmetics, including dithiothreitol, chloroform, mercury compounds, chlorofluorocarbon propellants, halogenated salicylanilides, hexachlorophene, and vinyl chloride. These substances may be found in low-quality products and, in some cases, may cause serious health risks. Such regulatory measures have increased consumer awareness of harmful chemicals and contributed to the growing demand for natural products.
In March 2022, the European Commission (EC), in accordance with Article 15 of Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 on cosmetic products, prohibited a total of 23 carcinogenic, mutagenic, or reprotoxic (CMR) substances due to their potential risks to human health. These prohibited CMR substances include zinc pyrithione, silicon carbide fibers, fluorochloroketone, liconazole, and paclobutrazol.
Image courtesy of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
The certification programs for bio-based products include the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) BioPreferred® Program, under which eligible products may display the USDA Certified Biobased Product label.
The USDA BioPreferred® Program uses the ASTM D6866 test method to determine the bio-based content of products. ASTM D6866 measures the ¹⁴C/¹²C ratio. Carbon-14 (¹⁴C) is produced in the atmosphere and incorporated into plants, but it has a half-life of approximately 5,700 years. Petroleum-based materials contain less than 1% of the ¹⁴C content found in bio-based materials.
Bio-based content is calculated as the ratio of “new” organic carbon (derived from plants or agricultural sources) to total organic carbon (“new” organic carbon plus “old” organic carbon derived from fossil fuels). The ASTM D6866 method determines bio-based content based only on organic carbon and excludes inorganic carbon and water. Therefore, a sample with no detectable carbon-14 has a bio-based content of 0%.
Bio-based certification programs also include the USDA BioPreferred® Program, Germany’s DIN CERTCO DIN-Geprüft Biobased Scheme, and TÜV Austria’s OK Biobased Program. These programs allow eligible products to display certification marks indicating the percentage of bio-based content in the product or its packaging.
Verifying the bio-based content of ingredients and packaging in personal care and cosmetic products is essential for manufacturers and distributors, as consumer demand for natural and plant-based products continues to grow and expectations for advertising transparency increase. Carbon-14 testing can clearly identify bio-based components, with results supporting USDA BioPreferred® bio-based content certification. The combination of Carbon-14 testing and bio-based content certification enables consumers to more easily identify plant-derived ingredients and finished products in the market.
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