Shanghai Clarifies the Reviewing Tips for Children Cosmetics’ Advertisements

China National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) issued the Supervision and Administration Provisions on Children Cosmetics on Oct. 8, 2021, and published the children cosmetics’ logo—“Little Golden Shield” (in Chinese is “小金盾”)—on Dec. 1, 2021. According to these new regulations, from May 1, 2022, children cosmetics applying for registration or notification must mark the logo in a prominent position on the display panel of the sales package.

To help cosmetics manufacturers and operators as well as advertising agencies better grasp the compliance requirements for children cosmetics’ advertising, strengthen the review of children cosmetics’ advertising, and protect the safety and health of minors, Shanghai Municipal Administration for Market Regulation issued the following tips for reviewing the advertisements for children cosmetics on Jun. 1, 2022.

1. Regarding the Scope of Children Cosmetics

• Children cosmetics refer to cosmetics for children aged 12 and under, and have the functions of cleansing, moisturizing, body refreshing, sun-screening, etc.
  

• Products advertised in any of the following circumstances are regulated as children cosmetics:

1) Targeting children under the age of 12, or

2) Marking words such as "applicable to the entire population," "for the whole family," or

3) Implying that the product users include children by trademarks, patterns, homonyms, letters, Chinese pinyin, numbers, symbols, packaging, etc.

2. Regarding the Use of Children Cosmetics' Logos

• Children cosmetics shall be labeled with the NMPA-designated children cosmetics logo, "Little Golden Shield," on the display panel of the sales package.

  Children Cosmetics' Logo Published by NMPA

• Children cosmetics operators on e-commerce platforms and e-commerce operators who operate children cosmetics through self-built websites or other network services shall continuously display children cosmetics logo in a prominent position on the product display page.

• "Little Golden Shield" is an identification mark for children cosmetics rather than a quality certification mark. Using "Little Golden Shield" in advertisements only indicates that the product belongs to children cosmetics but does not mean that the product has been approved by the regulatory authorities or certified for quality and safety. Therefore, cosmetic operators are not allowed to imply that the mark means “having obtained national approval” or “quality certification."

• Advertisements for non-children cosmetics shall not use the children cosmetics logo "Little Golden Shield" for promotion, because it may mislead consumers that the product applies to children.

3. Regarding the Advertising Expressions for Children Cosmetics

• Children cosmetics’ advertisements targeting minors under the age of 12 should mark warning words such as “shall be used under adult supervision."
  

• The advertisements for children cosmetics shall not use terms such as "gene technology" and "nanotechnology" for publicity.

• The advertisements for children cosmetics shall not publicize efficacies that are inconsistent with the intended purpose of children cosmetics, such as "freckle-removing and whitening," "anti-acne," "depilation," "deodorization," "anti-dandruff," "anti-hair loss," "hair dyeing" and "hair perming."

• The advertisements for children cosmetics shall not use words such as "food grade," "edible," food-related patterns, or content that may confuse children cosmetics with other products, especially food and medicine, which may cause children to eat or use them by mistake.

4. Other Tips

In addition, advertising agencies also need to pay attention to the following points when undertaking children cosmetics’ advertisements. They should

• check the registration certificate of special cosmetics and the notification information of general cosmetics, the children cosmetics logo, and the product quality inspection certificate;

• check the label information of children cosmetics with the corresponding product information published on NMPA’s official website to ensure that the information is consistent; and

• check the advertising content to ensure that the content is true and legal.

The manufacturers and operators of children cosmetics shall strictly abide by relevant laws and regulations, not make false or misleading publicity of children cosmetics, and not use the name and image of state organs as an endorsement.