Press Release
NATRUE MEMBERSHIP ASSEMBLY 2019
“Evolving natural and organic into the 2020s: hot topics and emerging trends”
On 7th May 2019, NATRUE held its annual Membership Assembly in Frankfurt (Germany), entitled: “Evolving natural and organic into the 2020s: hot topics and emerging trends”. The Membership Assembly was the perfect occasion to provide NATRUE’s Members with an overview of the association’s activities in the areas of advocacy, label and research, but also to highlight a consortium project where NATRUE is involved that is linked to a sustainable packaging initiative funded by European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme.
Once again, the international non-profit association has increased its number of Label Users, present in more than 30 countries and currently formed by more than 270 certified brands and over 30 new brands in the pipeline. As of April 2019, the NATRUE seal appeared on more than 6,200 certified natural and organic cosmetic products available globally.
NATRUE’s new members
During the Assembly, NATRUE kindly welcomed the following new Members B to the Association: Hellmut Ruck GmbH (Germany), Peerage Products Ltd (New Zealand), Mommy Diaries Care Pvt. Ltd (India), Furcellaoù (Estonia), Sea Buck AG (Switzerland), Mario Zunino & C S.R.L. (Italy), Hyga GmbH (Germany), Italian Cosmetics (Italy) and Alise & Chael Limited (New Zealand). With these new additions, NATRUE consolidates its membership with a total of 65 members (5 Members A and 60 Members B).
We have also welcomed this year Burt’s Bees as an associate member of NATRUE. Burt’s Bees was born in 1984 as a small candle making partnership and it’s nowadays one of the leading companies in the natural cosmetics sector worldwide.
NATRUE’s Label growth
Over the past 12 months and as of May 2019, the NATRUE label has kept on developing, with an over 11% growth recorded in 2018. While most of NATRUE’s certified Label Users are located in Europe (90%), mirroring the historically matured markets for certified products, the NATRUE Label is nowadays also present and expanding in fast growing markets such as New Zealand (5%), Asia (2%) and the USA (2%) where consumer interest in labels and certification has increased partly due to noted greenwashing and concerns related to substance avoidance.
NATRUE’s commitments and activities in 2019
So far in 2019, the key advocacy focus points of NATRUE centre around developments at EU level related to evolving and emerging regulation covering fragrance allergens risk management, substances with endocrine-disrupting properties, microplastics and collaborative work with stakeholder associations either to protect a wide palette of natural substances used in finished products ingredients or specific commitments to keep greenwashing off the shelves. NATRUE keeps contributing to shaping a definition for truly natural and organic cosmetics and to improving consumer transparency for green cosmetic products by participating in diverse Working Groups on Cosmetic Products at the European Commission, ECHA and ISO. Hand-in-hand, NATRUE continues its ongoing work to evolve and develop its high-quality and internationally applicable Standard that is a guarantee both for producers and consumers.
NATRUE’s commitment to sustainability and packaging was on show with an address during this Membership Assembly on the status of the EU-funded industry consortium initiative, URBIOFIN. URBIOFIN aims to transform municipal solid waste into bio-based products and is funded by BBI JU under EU Horizon 2020. The 4th General Meeting will take place in June 2019 in Valencia, Spain.
Open sessions
Dr Karin Gromann, from the Austrian Federal Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs, Health and Consumer Protection, opened the public session with an insightful presentation focused on consumer perception, the market situation under the existing EU framework for producers, the hurdles for competent authorities and the approaches being taken in Austria. Dr Matthias Vey, Scientific Director at IFRA, presented an informative overview of the evolution and current status of the 49th Amendment to the IFRA Code of Practice, which is presently under consultation and where NATRUE continues to contribute.
Later Kseniia Galenytska from Euromonitor International provided a summary overview to the state of the beauty market in Europe, which was followed by a comprehensive presentation from Bart Van Vooren and Rosa Oyarzabal from Covington & Burling LLP, who explained the challenges and opportunities of natural and organic claims. The open session ended with a look into the future with Dr Barbara Brockway, who gave a detailed presentation on drivers for natural personal care linked to the digital and DNA revolutions.
“NATRUE is delighted to hold its Annual Membership Assembly in the presence of such esteemed and expert presenters providing positive and fruitful interactions with the sector”, remarked Dr Mark Smith, Director General at NATRUE. “The NATRUE Membership Assembly continues to represent not only a regular home to open discussion and tackle pertinent topics for our pioneering members and labels users, but also for stakeholders who share our passion for this beloved sector in order to ensure greater transparency and authenticity for consumers when it comes to natural and organic cosmetics.”
About NATRUE:
NATRUE is an international non-profit organisation located in Brussels. It has promoted and protected authentic natural and organic cosmetics since 2007. The NATRUE Label sets a high standard which guarantees quality and integrity so consumers worldwide may identify and enjoy natural and organic cosmetics truly worthy of that name. Currently over 6,200 products and more than 270 raw materials are NATRUE certified. Products are listed on the publicly accessible database in our website (www.natrue.org). You can check this list if you want to confirm whether a product is natural or organic or if you want to know more about details about its ingredients.
Press contact:
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Telephone: +32 (0)261 329 35