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Managing cosmetic claims in the EU
Cosmetic claims are a central element of cosmetic product marketing and one of the most frequently evaluated areas during market surveillance. Understanding the regulatory framework that governs their use is essential for any company operating in the European Union cosmetics sector.
Legal Basis
The primary obligation is set out in Article 20 of Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009, which prohibits the use of any text, names, trademarks, images, or figurative signs that attribute to a cosmetic product characteristics or functions which it does not possess. This applies to all communication channels and formats, whether on-pack, digital, or in advertising material.
The substantive criteria for claim compliance are laid down in Commission Regulation (EU) No 655/2013, which establishes six common criteria that all cosmetic claims must satisfy. These are applied uniformly across all EU Member States and cover all claim types, regardless of the medium used.
The Six Common Criteria
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Legal compliance. Claims must not contravene applicable legislation, including Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 and Regulation (EU) No 655/2013. Claims implying regulatory approval by a competent authority are not permitted.
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Truthfulness. Claims must only attribute characteristics that the product genuinely possesses. If a specific ingredient is claimed, it must be deliberately present and at a concentration consistent with the claimed effect.
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Evidential support. Claims must be substantiated by adequate and verifiable evidence, irrespective of the type of evidence used. The evidence must correspond to the finished product as marketed, not solely to an ingredient or to a different formulation.
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Honesty. Claims must not exaggerate product performance. Superlatives and absolute claims (e.g., "the most effective", "100% natural") must be factually supportable or clearly understood as non-literal by the average consumer.
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Fairness. Claims must not denigrate competitors or their products, and must not create confusion with competing products.
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Informed decision-making. Claims must allow consumers to make informed purchasing decisions. They must not imply effects that go beyond the cosmetic scope as defined in Article 2 of the Cosmetics Regulation.
Technical Guidance and the PIF
The European Commission has published a Technical Document on Cosmetic Claims, agreed by the Sub-Working Group on Claims, to support the consistent application of Regulation (EU) No 655/2013. The document elaborates on each criterion with illustrative examples, addresses the evidentiary hierarchy for claim substantiation (clinical studies, consumer perception tests, instrumental measurements, published scientific data), and provides specific guidance on categories such as "free from", "hypoallergenic", and ingredient-based claims.
Claim substantiation evidence must form part of the Product Information File (PIF), which is the responsibility of the Responsible Person under Article 11 of the Cosmetics Regulation. Evidence must be in place before the product is placed on the market and must be readily accessible to competent authorities upon request.
Several claim categories consistently attract regulatory scrutiny across Member States: claims that extend a product's function beyond the cosmetic scope (raising the boundary with medicinal or biocidal products); "hypoallergenic" and "free from" claims without adequate supporting evidence; and sustainability or origin-related claims ("natural", "organic", "vegan") where the substantiation framework remains less harmonised at EU level. Claim acceptability is evaluated from the perspective of the average end user — a standard applied in the context of the social, cultural, and linguistic norms of the specific market in question.
References:
Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 November 2009 on cosmetic products Commission Regulation (EU) No 655/2013 laying down common criteria for the justification of claims used in relation to cosmetic products
European Commission Sub-Working Group on Claims. Technical Document on Cosmetic Claims. 2017