Cosmetic products placed on the European Community market are regulated under the Cosmetics Directive (76/768/EEC). Further details of this legislation is available on the Colipa website (www.colipa.com). Colipa also provides links to the website of the European Commission and to the full text of the Cosmetics Directive.
As from 11th September 2004, members of the public will be able to ask cosmetic companies for specific information regarding a cosmetic product. The information to which you are entitled is:
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the qualitative ingredient listing. The ingredients are listed using their harmonised international ingredient labelling names (INCI) – as you will find them on the product packaging. (In case of small products, this list may be on a notice enclosed with the product or made available at the point of sale near the product).
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the quantitative declaration of certain ingredients (i.e. those covered by Directive 67/548/ EEC)
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information on existing data on undesirable effects on human health resulting from the use of the cosmetic product.
The purpose of this directory is to make it easier for you as a member of the public to contact the company by providing you with the appropriate contact details.
Each company will have made their own arrangement to accommodate your questions. These can be postal addresses, telephone numbers, website addresses, fax numbers or e-mail addresses. Not every company will offer all of these access routes and some companies will have different contact points in different countries.
Sometimes a company may ask you to provide further information about the cosmetic product that you have requested further information about. This is because companies often market similar products and will need to ensure you are given the right information for the specific product you are interested in.
If the company is not listed in this directory you have the option of writing to the company at the addresses listed on the packaging. In addition to contact details for cosmetic companies, this directory also provides the contact details for the regulatory authorities responsible for cosmetic products in each member state. You may contact the regulatory authority in your own country for questions relating to the general requirements of the cosmetics directive and the implementation of this specific Public Access requirement. Please note that the authorities do not keep the information about individual cosmetic products themselves and neither does Colipa; this is only available from the companies directly.
In addition to the information about the Cosmetic Companies, the present Directory provides you with the contact details of :
You can contact your National Association if you need some general information on :
- the main regulation on cosmetics products,
- the procedure by which all cosmetic products are assessed to ensure safety.
In addition, in case of a non-answer from a manufacturer (or if its answer seems inappropriate), you can contact the relevant National Authority of your country.
Please note that the information about individual cosmetic products themselves are not kept by National Authorities, nor by Colipa, nor by National Associations.
Consequently, would you need any more information about a specific cosmetic product, please contact the manufacturer directly.
