Industry applauds EU’s CLP rules on animal testing phase-out, hazard labeling and chemical classification

05 Oct 2023 --- The International Fragrance Association (IFRA) and Cosmetics Europe are welcoming the EU Parliament’s adoption of new rules to classify, label and package chemical substances and mixtures. Backed by 519 votes yesterday, the CLP Regulation (Classification, Labeling and Packaging of Chemical Substances and Mixtures) will bring “clearer” ways to improve hazardous information to consumers.

The trade bodies are especially supportive of the changes to the classification of renewable substances of botanical origin and the classification of substances. “They are essential to supporting the future of the natural ingredients used in cosmetics and fragrances,” asserts John Chave, director general of Cosmetics Europe. 

“These play an essential role in meeting the EU’s ambition to boost the bio and circular economies.” 

IFRA says the adoption is a sign that a critical part of the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability (CSS) is “falling into place.”

The EU Parliament is now ready to start negotiations with EU member states on the final law.

“The adoption represents a significant advance over the draft text originally proposed by the European Commission (EC) in December last year,” comments Aurelie Perrichet, regional director for Europe at IFRA.

New transparency rules
The members of the EU Parliament (MEPs) are supporting new formatting rules for hazard communication that will bring uniformity and make labels more readable. The regulations include a minimum font size and color on labels. Furthermore, all stakeholders involved in the supply chain, including online sellers, must comply with the rules.The EC will classify substances according to the new hazard classes by January 2026.

“Clear information to consumers about the hazardousness of various household chemicals such as cleaning products will enable them to make better-informed purchases of such products,” says the EU Parliament.

The MEPs also stress that all information must be publicly available while “testing on animals should be phased out as soon as possible.”

“Today, we have made a significant step toward protecting both the consumers and the environment. It is critical to increase the information provided for all products containing chemicals and address risks arising from online sales,” remarked rapporteur Maria Spyraki, MEP, European People’s Party, Nea Demokratia, after the vote. 

New hazard classes for chemicals
Perrichet says the EU Parliament has recognized that the grouping of chemical substances should be based on science and align with the provisions laid down by the REACH regulation (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals.)

According to the MEPs, the EC must classify substances according to the new hazard classes by January 2026 “if they have been included in the candidate list in January 2025.”

“The EC shall also assess the introduction of hazard criteria for immunotoxicity and neurotoxicity by December 2025,” asserts the EU Parliament.

The EU Parliament explains that new hazard classes for chemicals and criteria for classifying substances and mixtures entered into force on April 20 this year.

“The EU Council recognized the need for carefully crafted provisions to classify ‘complex substances (containing more than one constituent) when they adopted their position in June 2023. Now, we trust that a fair and workable compromise can be reached in the negotiations between the Institutions,” says Chave.

Addressing business fears
Spyraki stresses: “It is important to support our industry and SMEs to adapt and maintain their competitiveness and provide enough resources to the European Chemicals Agency.”MEP Maria Spyraki.

In July, negotiations of the CLP Regulation resulted in the publication of several position papers rejecting the EC proposal, with worries for the fragrance and cosmetics business.

For instance, the International Federation of Essential Oils and Aroma Trades expressed fears that with the new proposals, essential oils would have to be classified for hazards related to their constituents and would put SMEs businesses at financial risk.

However, a host of NGOs responded by saying that essential oils, for instance, are already classified based on the properties of their constituents, while many are classified as hazardous.

Meanwhile, IFRA and Cosmetics Europe explain that they will work with stakeholders to ensure the legislation under CSS is consistent for creating a robust foundation so consumers in the EU can enjoy safe and environmentally sustainable fragrances and cosmetics.

An EC spokesperson previously told Personal Care Insights: “The objective would be to finalize the inter-institutional discussions by the end of the year, but this timing is tentative, as it depends on the speed of progress between the European Parliament and the Council.” 

By Venya Patel