COSMOS Certified – COSMetics Organic and natural Standard

Who is COSMOS?

The COSMOS-standard or COSMOS Certified a new cosmetic certification developed to harmonise various certifications and labels in order to create one standard that is internationally recognised for natural and organic cosmetics. The ‘COSMetic Organic and Natural Standard’ was officially launched in February 2011, and as a result of Europe’s leading natural cosmetic certifiers coming together and forming a non-profit association, COSMOS-standard AISBL.

The COSMOS-standard association consists of five founding members who now authorise and oversee the certification, including the Soil Association (UK), Ecocert (France), Cosmebio (France), BDIH (Germany) and AIAB/ICEA (Italy). The main goal is to uphold the inspection and certification of organic and ecological products, eco-friendly systems and respect for the environment throughout the production chain. Today, over 1,600 companies, and more than 25,000 products sold into more than 45 countries are certified under COSMOS. It is currently the most influential and globally recognized certification for organic and natural cosmetics.The COSMOS-Standard certification assures consumers they are getting the highest-level of natural and organic ingredients possible.

When brands choose to become COSMOS-standard certified, every part of their product’s ingredients must comply to strict testing criteria and tightly regulated standards. This includes ensuring ingredients are sourced from organic farming and that no synthetic chemicals were used to farm those ingredients.

What is the COSMOS-Standard?

The standard divides the type of ingredients used in cosmetic products into five categories and specifies the requirements for each.  Here they are with some of the key standards:

  1. Physically processed agro-ingredients – may be plant, animal or microbial origin but no GMOs, no critically endangered species, only products of (not a part of) animals;
  2. Chemically processed agro-ingredients – same as above, and the chemical treatments must respect the principles of Green Chemistry with the resulting ingredients complying with strict limitations of toxicity and biodegradability;
  3. Water – must comply with hygienic standards;
  4. Minerals and ingredients of mineral origin – must be of natural origin and may be modified with simple chemical reactions;
  5. Other ingredients – a very limited list of preservatives and some other ingredients and petrochemical moieties are temporarily allowed and are reviewed on a regular basis, taking into account availability of acceptable alternatives.

Companies must also ensure their packaging is minimised and is environmentally friendly and they must have an environmental and waste management plan for their factories.

COSMOS Certified

COSMOS has strict standards for production processes and products 

  1. Ingredients and packaging: must be non-GMO, recyclable and biodegradable.
  2. Manufacturing practices: must respect the Principles of Green Chemistry*.
  3. Manufacturing factories: must comply with hygienic standards.
  4. Storage and transport: every step of the manufacturing process must be examined for its impact on the environment.
  5. Inspection and control: Certified products are reviewed annually to ensure ongoing compliance with COSMOS requirements.
  6. Palm oils: Ingredients that contain palm oils must be CSPO-certified for sustainability.

*Principles of Green Chemistry:

  1. The manufacturing process must minimize and recycle waste. 
  2. The ingredients used throughout manufacturing must be health-friendly and environmentally-friendly.

You will find two types of COSMOS labels:

ECOCERT, Inna Organic, Natural & Organic skincare, Clean Beauty, EWG USA Verified, COSMOS Organic Certified, COSMOS Natural Certified

‘COSMOS ORGANIC’ on products containing the required percentages of organic ingredients;
‘COSMOS NATURAL’ on those that comply with the Standard in all other respects but do not have the minimum organic percentages.
‘COSMOS ORGANIC’ or ‘COSMOS NATURAL’ will always appear right below the logo/mark of the responsible certifier or association, so you will be able to recognize your already known and trusted organization that participates in the COSMOS standard.

In addition, you will find on the label the percentage of organic ingredients in the product. This is the percent organic of the whole product, but as some products contain a lot of water and mineral ingredients that can never be organic, you may also see the percent of organic less these two-ingredient categories.

All INNA ORGANIC products were produced and manufactured according to COSMOS strict standards and had been certified by ECOCERT under the COSMOS standard. All INNA ORGANIC product packages and online product pages list all ingredients and the breakdown percentage totals for the natural origin and organic farming.