Investors to target natural personal care companies in 2010

15-Feb-2010 - Natural personal care companies are expected to be a key target for investors in 2010, according to Organic Monitor’s latest Strategic Insights report.

USDA crackdown on misuse of ‘organic’ not imminent, say standards holders

12-Nov-2009 - US organic standards holders are not expecting an imminent USDA crackdown on the misuse of the term ‘organic’ in the cosmetics and personal care sector.

Seaweed extract may help improve the appearance of ageing skin

21-Oct-2009 - Australian company Marinova claims that recent studies support the use of its organic seaweed extract in anti-ageing cosmetics.

Private label drives growth in organic and natural markets

29-Sep-2009 - Private label natural and organic products are gaining market share in Europe but far from stealing sales from established brands they are pushing the growth of the sector.

First Fairtrade beauty products hit UK shelves

25-Jun-2009 - Fairtrade certification is well known in food and drink, but now for the first time in the UK, beauty products have begun to carry the Fairtrade Foundation mark.

Cosmos organic standard launched after lengthy consultation

09-Jun-2009 - The Cosmos standard for natural and organic cosmetics has been released after six years of debate between some of Europe’s biggest certification bodies.

‘Good enough to eat’: the trend for food ingredients in cosmetics gains pace

09-Jun-2009 - A rising number of cosmetics companies are now formulating products from ingredients normally found in the kitchen. This is the latest trend to emerge from escalating interest in organic and natural products.

Clarins and Alban Muller show support for sustainable ingredients sourcing

09-Jun-2009 - Two of the biggest names in European natural personal care have lent their support to L’Herboretum, a French project to encourage sustainable natural ingredient development.

Major retailer launches private label organic range

01-Jun-2009 - Leading UK health retailer, Holland and Barrett, has launched a range of private label organic cosmetics called Dr Organic.

Weekly comment

Being organic or natural won't necessarily make a product green

26-May-2009 - Contrary to popular belief, organic and natural cosmetic ingredients are not necessarily more environmentally friendly.

Top three stories this month

Natural ingredients are not necessarily safer or more effective, say cosmetic chemists

22-May-2009 - Cosmetic chemists fought hard against the idea that natural ingredients are inherently safer than their synthetic counterparts at this week’s cosmetic science symposium.

Natrue works on equivalency agreement with US naturals body

22-May-2009 - Natrue, a European certifier of natural cosmetics, is working on a mutual recognition agreement with the Natural Products Association (NPA) in the US.

dispatches from suppliers' day

Organic preservatives come at a cost, but formulators are now willing to pay

19-May-2009 - At Suppliers’ Day in New Jersey last week CosmeticsDesign.com spoke to Kris Kudrnac of K3 Corporation who explained how the industry is experiencing a “mad rush” for natural and organic preservatives.

Organic certification boom results in confusion and lawsuits

19-May-2009 - Several new organic and natural standards have been launched over the last 18 months on both sides of the Atlantic. CosmeticsDesign.com talked to Amarjit Sahota, director of Organic Monitor, to get under the skin of the “certification wars”.

Dispatches from suppliers’ day

Organic ingredient launches only just starting to match marketing buzz

14-May-2009 - Organic alternatives to certain synthetic ingredients have been elusive. Peter Boncelet from Earth Supplied Products explains why organic cosmetics have yet to fully live up to the marketing hype but suggests that chemistry is starting to catch up.

Symposium for cosmetic chemists to be held in UK in May

01-Apr-2009 - Cosmetic chemists prepare to investigate the new generation of anti-ageing products and the potential of natural ingredients at the upcoming UK SCS annual symposium.

Aldivia launches certified organic surfactants for cosmetics

31-Mar-2009 - Aldivia is launching a range of Ecocert certified organic surfactants for the cosmetics market.

Fair trade certification for mint oils

26-Mar-2009 - The organic oil specialist, Earthoil, has achieved fair trade status for its Indian mint growing facility under an Institute for Marketecology (IMO) scheme in order to meet growing demand for ethical products.

Givaudan signs sustainable sourcing partnership

25-Mar-2009 - Givaudan has partnered with a Laos-based producer to secure the sustainable supply of benzoin, a raw material used in fragrances.

Cosmos certified products expected by spring 2010

25-Mar-2009 - The first products certified to the organic and natural Cosmos standards cannot be expected before spring 2010, but UK member Soil Association is confident uptake will be strong.

News in brief

Chitin-glucan ingredient from KitoZyme gets Ecocert recognition

20-Mar-2009 - An anti-aging active from Belgium-based company KitoZyme is now listed as Ecocert compliant.

Borregaard plays up lignin-vanillin CO2 developments

19-Mar-2009 - A supplier of lignin-derived vanillin claims that its processes for sourcing and producing the ingredient can dramatically reduced the carbon footprint compared to sourcing from some mineral oils, according to recent testing.

Organic Monitor digs into natural cosmetics in the UK and Germany

18-Mar-2009 - Organic Monitor has published a report on the natural cosmetics market in Germany and the UK highlighting the growing popularity of private label brands in both countries.

Dr Straetmans target organic formulators with new range

17-Mar-2009 - Dr Straetmans’ new range of organic actives target manufacturers looking to up the proportion of organic raw materials in their formulations.