Power of naturals studied at annual conference

Opening on the hottest day of the year, visitors were treated to an excellent programme of presentations that looked at all aspects of the use of natural ingredients in the personal care industry.

Day 1
Session 1
After a welcome from Dr Emma Meredith, the SCS Immediate Past President, Margo Marrone from The Organic Pharmacy delivered a Keynote Address that offered a great insight into the various challenges of setting up a business that relies almost entirely on organic and natural ingredients. Margo Marrone said that organic products used not to be considered very luxurious, however this has slowly changed over the years thanks to improved ingredients and techniques so that consumers can now expect a beautiful experience as well as results. Despite this, organic products have struggled to be taken seriously in some areas. Also labelling restrictions have proved problematic, but perhaps the most universal challenge has been with a lack of reliable natural/organic preservative, stabiliser and emulsifier ingredients. 

Following the presentation from Margo Marrone, Dr Emma Meredith returned to the podium to deliver an update on the EU Cosmetics Regulation which looked at the many areas that affect natural cosmetic companies. It is now well understood that products must be safe and be proven to be safe and that the Regulation covers all products including natural and organic. However, the Regulation is not without its inadequacies and there are many errors in the Annexes to the Regulation. In April 2013 the Commission published a new Adaptation updating the Annexes with all the changes that had taken place to the Directive between 2008 and 2013. However the errors in the Annexes still remain Cosmetics Europe is working with the Commission on this.