The conference, held in Leatherhead, UK, will be conducted over a two-day period at the end of September in a bid to inform ingredient suppliers and manufacturers about the legislation that is causing controversy within the industry.
The in-depth legislation, Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals (REACH) law has created some confusion among the industry, due to the complex procedures that need to be carried out in order to comply with the new regulation.
In a bid to further educate the industry, Intertech Pira has created a programme that predominately gives an update on the entire legislation, in relation to safety, testing and labelling of cosmetics - which will then be followed up by 'unravelling the conflicting issues between testing, and the REACH regulation'.
Likewise, attendees will be educated on managing risk in relation to adhering to the new guidelines whilst continuing to innovate in product development within the cosmetics industry.
Focusing more specifically on the finer details of the law, speakers such as regulatory affairs expert with Ciba Expert Services, Jan Backmann and Peter Megaw, previously group regulatory affairs manager for Croda International Plc, will relate information about how to correctly register chemical ingredients for use in cosmetics.
Furthermore they will help manufacturers and suppliers alike get to grips with labelling regulations - what is allowed and required.
Following the new framework forged in May for economic integration between the EU and the US, which aims to see greater co-operation on a number of areas for the cosmetics industry, including animal testing and slashing trade barriers for suppliers.
The conference will also look at non-EU regulations, in order for manufacturers to stay up-to-date with international proceedings.
Finally, attendees will get briefed about regulatory predictions for the future of the cosmetics industry and possible future changes set to take place.
The EU law REACH - Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals - will see some 30,000 chemicals being tested and reviewed by the newly formed European Chemicals Agency (EChA) with the aim of banning those that pose a significant health threat and finding safer substitutes.
As a result of the law, big business, downstream users and the cosmetics industry will all be expected to carry the onus on the safety status of the chemicals they use.
Although it will be European companies that will be primarily hit by this regulations, global players, including many of the bigger names in the US, will also have to take careful note if they want to maintain their share of the pie by complying.
The law, which was passed by the European Parliament and Council of Ministers last December, comes into being after more than three years of debate between industry, environmentalists and consumer groups.
Opposition has been strong, with arguments against it ranging from increased animal testing and increased costs, to the fact that the law might not being viable and would affect trade flow.
The European Commission estimated the new law would cost the chemical industry between €2.8bn and €5.2bn over the next decade. But, on the plus side, the law would save Europe €54bn over 30 years, as less people would become ill as a result of exposure to dangerous chemicals, it claimed.
