Organic Cosmetics not Recognized under Chinese Regulatory Framework

Hanhoo, a Guangzhou based cosmetics brand has been accused of false advertising by one of its consumers last year. The premise for the accusation is based on the fact that packaging used by Hanhoo’s cosmetic products bear words like “Hanhoo organic” and “Hanhoo organic skin care”, while China lacks a specific regulatory classification for organic cosmetics. A spokesman from the company has argued that the two statements are just registered trademarks printed on sales packaging which don’t necessarily mean these products are organic. However the wording used does imply the idea of natural, organically sourced cosmetic ingredients to a degree that easily misleads consumers.

In line with this logic, recently, a Chinese court issued a verdict finding Hanhoo guilty of illegal marketing. Organic products in China must be certified by China CNCA according to the Administrative Measures on Organic Product Certification (CL news on 25 Nov 2013). Only after certification can products bear the certification mark and the word “organic” on product packaging or labels and only products in the national Catalogue of Organic Product Certification and meeting the requirements in the measures can apply for organic certification. To reiterate on the most important point, all cosmetics are excluded from this catalogue. China does not recognize organic cosmetics at present, a fact confirmed by Martin Hu, REACH24H’s cosmetics regulatory specialist.