The Cosmetic Products (Safety) Regulations 1996

Marking

6.—(1) Subject to paragraphs (5)(b) and (9) to (12) below, no person shall supply a cosmetic product unless the packaging in which it is supplied bears, in lettering which is visible, indelible and easily legible, a list of its cosmetic ingredients (preceded by the word “ingredients”) in descending order of weight, the weight to be determined at the time the ingredients are added to the product.

(2) Subject to paragraphs (3), (4), (5)(a), (6) to (8) and (13) to (16) below, no person shall supply a cosmetic product unless the container and packaging in which it is supplied bear the following particulars in lettering which is visible, indelible and easily legible—

(a) the name or trade name and the address or registered office of the manufacturer of the product or of the supplier thereof, being a manufacturer or supplier established within a member State of the Community;

(b) in the case of a cosmetic product likely within 30 months from the manufacture thereof to cease either to comply with the requirements of regulation 3 or to fulfil the purpose for which it was intended, the words “Best before . . .” immediately followed by

(i) the earliest date on which it is likely to so cease; or

(ii) an indication of where that date appears on the labelling

and any particular precautions to be observed to ensure that the product does not so cease before that date;

(c) in the case of a cosmetic product containing a substance listed in column 2 of Schedule 2, the information specified in column 6 of that Schedule in relation to that substance;

(d) in the case of a cosmetic product containing a preservative listed in column 2 of Schedule 4, the information specified in column 6 of that Schedule in relation to that preservative;

(e) in the case of a cosmetic product containing a UV filter listed in column 2 of Schedule 5, the information specified in column 5 of that Schedule in relation to that UV filter;

(f) any particular precautions to be observed in use and any special precautionary information on a cosmetic product for professional use, in particular in hairdressing (not being precautions included in the information referred to in sub-paragraphs (b), (c), (d) and (e) above);

(g) a means of identifying the batch in which the product was manufactured (or, if the product was not manufactured in a batch, a reference from which the date and place of manufacture can be identified); and

(h) the function of the product unless this is clear from its presentation:

• Provided that the requirements specified in sub-paragraphs (b) and (g) above need not be complied with in relation to a cosmetic product which is the subject of a market research experiment.

(3) The particulars referred to in sub-paragraph (a) of paragraph (2) above may be abbreviated if such abbreviation does not prevent the person concerned from being identified.

(4) The date referred to in sub-paragraph (b) of paragraph (2) above shall include the month and the year, and the month shall precede the year.

(5) The particulars referred to—

(a) in sub-paragraphs (b) to (f) and (h) of paragraph (2) above shall be in English, but this shall not prohibit the additional use of other languages;

(b) in paragraph (1) above shall be in a language easily understood by the consumer.

(6) Where it is impossible for practical reasons for the particulars referred to in sub-paragraphs (c) to (f) of paragraph (2) above to appear on the container and packaging, they shall appear on a leaflet, label, tag, tape or card enclosed with the cosmetic product, to which the consumer is referred either by abbreviated information or by the symbol given in Schedule 6, which must appear on the container and packaging; and where it is impracticable for reasons of size or shape for the particulars so to appear, they shall appear on a label, tag, tape or card attached to the product.

(7) Where it is impossible, for reasons of size, for the particulars referred to in sub-paragraph (g) of paragraph (2) above to appear on the container and packaging, the said particulars shall appear on the packaging.

(8) In the case of a supply of soap which is not in a container, either the soap itself or the packaging in which it is exposed for supply or the container in which it was last contained before the supply shall bear the particulars referred to in sub-paragraphs (a) and (g) of paragraph (2) above, and in so far as any of the particulars referred to in sub-paragraphs (b) to (f) and (h) of paragraph (2) above are required they shall appear on a leaflet which shall be delivered to the buyer with the soap; and where either of the particulars referred to in sub-paragraphs (a) and (g) of paragraph (2) above appears on the soap itself the requirement of indelibility shall apply only until it has been put into use.

(9) In relation to the compilation of the list of ingredients referred to in paragraph (1) above—

(a) the following shall not be regarded as cosmetic ingredients—

(i) impurities in the raw materials used;

(ii) subsidiary technical materials used in the preparation of the cosmetic product but not present in the final product;

(iii) materials used in strictly necessary quantities as solvents or as carriers for perfumes and aromatic compositions;

(b) perfume and aromatic compositions and their raw materials shall be referred to by the words “perfume” or “flavour”;

(c) ingredients in concentrations of less than 1% may be listed in any order after those in concentrations of 1% or more;

(d) colouring agents may be listed in any order after the other ingredients, in accordance with the colour index number or denomination found in Schedule 3;

(e) for decorative cosmetic products marketed in several colour shades, all colouring agents used in the range may be listed, provided that the words “may contain” are added; and

(f) an ingredient shall be identified by its common name as provided for in the common ingredients nomenclature or, in the absence of the nomenclature or of a common name, by its chemical name, its CTFA name, its European Pharmacopoeia name, its International Non-proprietary Name as recommended by the World Health Organisation, its EINECS, IUPAC or CAS identification reference or its colour index number(1).

(10) Subject to paragraph (11) below, where a cosmetic product has no packaging or it is impossible for practical reasons for the list of ingredients referred to in paragraph (1) above to appear on the packaging, the list shall appear on the container; and where a cosmetic product is supplied or delivered pursuant to any supply in neither a container nor packaging, the list shall appear on the container in which the product is exposed for supply or a notice displayed in immediate proximity to that container.

(11) Subject to paragraph (12) below, where it is impossible for practical reasons for the list of ingredients referred to in paragraph (1) above to appear on the packaging or container of a cosmetic product, it shall appear on a leaflet, label, tag, tape or card enclosed with the product, to which the consumer is referred either by abbreviated information or by the symbol given in Schedule 6, which must appear on the packaging; and where it is impracticable for reasons of size or shape for the list so to appear, it shall appear on a label, tag, tape or card attached to the cosmetic product.

(12) In the case of soap, bathballs and other small products, where it is impracticable for reasons of size or shape for the list of ingredients referred to in paragraph (1) above to appear on an enclosed leaflet or on a label, tag, tape or card enclosed with or attached to the product, it shall appear on a notice in immediate proximity to the container in which the cosmetic product is exposed for sale.

(13) Where two or more cosmetic products are supplied together as a single item, each product being in a separate container and the containers being enclosed together in packaging which bears clear and conspicuous instructions to the effect that the products must be mixed together in specified proportions before use, the particulars referred to in sub-paragraphs (c) to (f) of paragraph (2) above shall appear on an enclosed leaflet and an indication shall appear on both the containers and on the packaging referring the consumer to the information in the leaflet.

(14) Where a cosmetic product other than soap is supplied or delivered pursuant to a supply in neither a container nor packaging, the particulars referred to in paragraph (2) above shall appear on the container in which the product is exposed for supply or a notice displayed in immediate proximity to that container.

(15) In the case of a cosmetic product supplied before paragraph (6) above has come into force, where it is impracticable by reason of the size or shape of the container or packaging (if any) for the particulars referred to in sub-paragraphs (c) to (f) of paragraph (2) above to appear on the container and packaging, or on one of them, the said particulars shall appear on an enclosed leaflet and an indication shall appear on both the container and the packaging (if any) referring the consumer to the information in that leaflet.

(16) Where, before paragraph (7) above has come into force, a cosmetic product is supplied or delivered pursuant to any supply in a container and packaging and it is impracticable, for reasons of size, for the particulars referred to in sub-paragraph (g) of paragraph (2) above to appear on the container, the said particulars shall appear on the packaging.

(1)

An ingredient’s CTFA name is the name given to it by the Cosmetics Toiletries and Fragrances Association and listed in the sixth edition of the International Cosmetic Ingredient Dictionary published in 1995. Its EINECS identification reference is the reference given in the European Inventory of Existing Commercial Chemical Substances. Its IUPAC identification reference is the reference given by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry. Its CAS identification reference is the reference assigned by the Chemical Abstracts Service. An ingredient’s colour index number is the number specified in the third edition of The Colour Index published in 1971 by the Society of Dyers and Colourists. European Pharmacopoeia names, International Non-proprietary Names and EINECS, IUPAC and CAS identification references are listed in Commission Decision 96/335/EC (O.J. No. L132, 1.6.1996, p.1).