The Regulatory Gap Behind Beauty Label Claims

In the USA, the FDA does not define or regulate the terms natural, organic (except for USDA-certified products) or clean on cosmetic products. A manufacturer who labels a product natural is not required to meet any ingredient standard.

In the EU, similar gaps exist for natural and clean. The EU Cosmetics Regulation governs safety requirements but does not define what percentage of natural-origin ingredients constitutes a natural product.

This regulatory gap means label language on beauty products functions as marketing rather than information. Understanding which certifications provide actual standards replaces reliance on unregulated claims.

What Each Common Label Claim Means in Practice

Natural

Regulatory definition: None in most markets.

What manufacturers typically mean when they use it: The product contains some plant-derived or mineral ingredients. The proportion varies from 10% to 99% natural-origin ingredients with no requirement to disclose the percentage.

How to assess: Ignore the claim. Read the INCI list instead. Natural-origin ingredients are identifiable by name: plant extracts, plant oils, minerals. Synthetic ingredients include compounds ending in -cone (silicones), -paraben, and many chemical names that do not correspond to recognisable natural sources.

Organic

Regulatory definition: Only regulated when a certification body has audited the product. The USDA organic seal on a cosmetic product means at least 95% of the ingredients are certified organic. Without a certification seal, organic on a beauty label means nothing beyond marketing.

Certifications that provide real assurance:

  • USDA Organic (USA): 95% certified organic ingredients
  • COSMOS Organic (Europe): Audited organic and natural standards; the most comprehensive EU certification

Clean Beauty

Regulatory definition: None anywhere globally.

What different brands mean by clean: This term varies significantly by brand and retailer. Sephora's Clean standard means the product does not contain a specific list of ingredients including parabens, phthalates, formaldehyde-releasing agents and several others. Target's Clean standard uses a different list. Credo Beauty's clean standard is more extensive than both.

Without a defined standard to reference, clean is marketing language. Different retailers' clean standards exclude different ingredients. A product that is clean at Sephora might not meet Credo's standard.

Non-Toxic

Regulatory definition: None.

The problem with this claim: All cosmetic ingredients legally sold in major markets have undergone safety assessments that concluded they are safe at the concentrations used in the final product. The claim of non-toxic implies that other products are toxic, which is generally not accurate for products meeting existing regulatory requirements.

Some ingredients are excluded from products by brands using this term based on precautionary concerns about emerging research rather than established safety problems. This is a legitimate precautionary choice but not the same as evidence of toxicity in the excluded ingredients.

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Ingredient Checker
Verify what any beauty ingredient actually is and does

Paste any ingredient name or a full product INCI list into the Ingredient Checker to get a clear explanation of what each ingredient is, whether it comes from natural or synthetic sources, its function in the formula and any relevant safety data.

Check My Beauty IngredientsAsk About Ingredient Safety

Certifications That Provide Genuine Assurance

These third-party certifications involve auditing the manufacturer's ingredients and processes against a defined standard. A product bearing one of these seals has met the standard; without the seal, no independent verification exists.

COSMOS Organic (Europe): Requires a minimum percentage of organic ingredients, prohibits specific synthetic ingredients, and verifies that natural ingredients are genuinely plant-derived. The full standard is publicly available at cosmos-standard.org.

COSMOS Natural (Europe): A lower standard than COSMOS Organic. Requires natural-origin ingredients without the organic certification requirement.

USDA Organic (USA): Applied to cosmetics, requires 95% or more certified organic agricultural ingredients.

Leaping Bunny (global): Certifies that neither the finished product nor any of its ingredients were tested on animals. The most rigorous cruelty-free certification because it requires annual audits of the entire supply chain, not just the manufacturer's own testing.

B Corp (global): A business certification, not a product certification. Verifies the company's overall environmental and social impact. A B Corp beauty brand may still use conventional ingredients; the certification does not guarantee natural or organic ingredients.

EWG Verified (USA): The Environmental Working Group certifies products that meet their standards for transparency, avoiding their list of concern ingredients and full disclosure.

Reading the INCI List Instead of the Label

The most reliable way to assess any beauty product is reading the full INCI ingredient list rather than the label claims. Resources for understanding INCI names:

INCI Decoder (incidecoder.com): Paste any INCI name or full ingredient list to get plain-language explanations of each ingredient, its function, natural or synthetic origin and safety data summary.

EWG Skin Deep database (ewg.org): Search any ingredient or product to see the EWG's concern rating based on available safety data.

CosDNA (cosdna.com): Ingredient analysis tool particularly useful for identifying potential comedogenic or irritating ingredients.

Using one of these tools takes less than 2 minutes and provides more accurate information than any label claim.