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  4. Cosmetic products 090
Bild för produktgrupp, kosmetiska produkter

Cosmetic products 090

A Nordic Swan Ecolabel cosmetic product meets strict requirements throughout its life cycle. A lower environmental and health impact is achieved by very strict requirements for harmful chemicals. Furthermore, the product also meets requirements for raw materials and contributes to a more circular economy through requirements for packaging.

Nordic Swan Ecolabel cosmetic products:

  • Meet strict health requirements for chemicals, including a ban on substances classified to cause cancer, as toxic to reproduction or to potentially damage genetic material. Also identified or potential endocrine disruptors on up-to-date lists from EU and national authorities or by classification are banned, and it is not allowed to add PFAS.
  • Contain no microplastics.
  • Contain no fragrances if the skin or hair care products is intended for babies or children.
  • Meet strict environmental requirements for chemicals to avoid long-term, negative effects in nature (biodegradability), to avoid harmful chemicals accumulating in animals and humans (bioaccumulation), and to avoid substances that are toxic to, for example, fish and crustaceans (ecotoxicity).
  • Responsible sourcing of renewable raw materials is promoted, and any palm oil or palm kernel oil in the product is RSPO certified.
  • Have packaging that contributes to a circular economy. The amount of packaging is low, and design and material composition promote recycling.
  • Wet wipes contain no plastic fibres.

The product group includes lotions, sunscreens, soap, shampoo, conditioner, and makeup – and all other products covered by the EU Cosmetics Regulation. It is also possible to certify wet wipes, animal care products, sex lubricants and medical lubricants. Products that are covered by the EU Biocidal Regulation cannot be certified with the Nordic Swan Ecolabel.

For chemical calculations or for information regarding chemicals, please click on DID-list:

There are 3261 Ecolabelled products from 70 companies within productgroup.

  • Welcome to apply for a Nordic Swan Ecolabel licence!

    This is how you do:

    1. Read the application guide.
    2. Log in to the Nordic Ecolabelling Portal.
    3. Start your application.

     

    If this is the first time you are applying, the authorized signatory must fill in your company information and approve the application conditions. In this way, you get login to the portal and the right to assign access to other colleagues.

     

    Request login

    To the Nordic Ecolabelling Portal

    Some special cases can not be done in the Nordic Ecolabelling Portal. Contact your advisor for such cases. More information can be found on "Application step by step".

  • The criteria document for cosmetic products is an overall document for the commodity groups:
     

    • Shampoo, conditioner, soap and toothpaste.
    • Sunscreen and after-sun products.
    • Wet wipes.
    • Other cosmetic products.
    • Products outside the scope of the Cosmetics Regulation.
       

    If you have several products within the same commodity group that are manufactured in the same production site, they are considered as one single licence. Application fees are paid per licence while the annual fee is paid across all licences in the product group.
     

    Valid from 1 January 2025 Amount excluding VAT

    Application fee

    Application for a new licence 3 348 EUR. Inspection of four recipes is included in the application fee. For inspection of additional recipes, 836 EUR per recipe will be charged.
    Application for a renewed licence when the requirements have been tightened 1 673 EUR. Inspection of four recipes is included in the fee. For inspection of additional recipes, 418 EUR per recipe will be charged.

    Annual licence fee

    The licence fee for the Nordic Swan Ecolabelled products is based on their turnover in the Nordic countries The fee is 0.3% of the products' turnover in the Nordic countries up to 51.5 million EUR.
    The fee is 0.05% of the products' turnover in the Nordic countries for the amount exceeding 51.5 million EUR.
    Minimum fee in the Nordic countries 2 232 EUR per year.
    Fixed fee that is added for sales outside the Nordic countries 2 232 EUR per year if the turnover exceeds 309 000 EUR.

    Fee for extension / change of licence

    Should the extension regard inspection of recipes, which are not already included in the licence, 836 EUR will be charged per recipe. Other types of alterations will be charged a fixed fee according to how long the work takes.

    Up to 4 hours 418 EUR.
    4–8 hours 836 EUR.
    8 or more hours 1 673 EUR.

    Fee for on-site inspections

    One on-site inspection in the Nordic countries is included when applying for a new or renewed licence.

    Additional on-site inspection within the Nordic countries 557 EUR per visit.
    On-site inspection outside the Nordic region, but within Europe 1 673 EUR per visit.
    On-site inspection outside Europe 2 790 EUR per visit.
    Additional fee for on-site inspections lasting longer than one day 1 115 EUR per day.

    Ecolabelling Sweden AB has no financial profit purpose and is financed through the fees above along with an annual government grant. The company is however liable for VAT according to article 56 of the European Council Directive 2006/112/EC.

    Invoicing is made in SEK with the exchange rate from the first banking day of the year.

    When both the applicant and the manufacturer are micro-enterprises, the application fee is reduced by 50%. A micro-enterprise is in this context defined as an enterprise with less than 10 employees and an annual turnover (of both ecolabelled and not ecolabelled products) below 2 million EUR.

    The criteria document for cosmetic products is an overall document for the commodity groups:
     

    • Shampoo, conditioner, soap and toothpaste.
    • Sunscreen and after-sun products.
    • Wet wipes.
    • Other cosmetic products.
    • Products outside the scope of the Cosmetics Regulation.
       

    If you have several products within the same commodity group that are manufactured in the same production site, they are considered as one single licence. Application fees are paid per licence while the annual fee is paid across all licences in the product group.
     

    Valid from 1 January 2024 Amount excluding VAT

    Application fee

    Application for a new licence 3 251 EUR. Inspection of four recipes is included in the application fee. For inspection of additional recipes, 812 EUR per recipe will be charged.
    Application for a renewed licence when the requirements have been tightened 1 625 EUR. Inspection of four recipes is included in the fee. For inspection of additional recipes, 406 EUR per recipe will be charged.

    Annual licence fee

    The licence fee for the Nordic Swan Ecolabelled products is based on their turnover in the Nordic countries The fee is 0.3% of the products' turnover in the Nordic countries up to 50 million EUR.
    The fee is 0.05% of the products' turnover in the Nordic countries for the amount exceeding 50 million EUR.
    Minimum fee in the Nordic countries 2 167 EUR per year.
    Fixed fee that is added for sales outside the Nordic countries 2 167 EUR per year if the turnover exceeds 300 000 EUR.

    Fee for extension / change of licence

    Should the extension regard inspection of recipes, which are not already included in the licence, 812 EUR will be charged per recipe. Other types of alterations will be charged a fixed fee according to how long the work takes.

    Up to 4 hours 406 EUR.
    4–8 hours 812 EUR.
    8 or more hours 1 625 EUR.

    Fee for on-site inspections

    One on-site inspection in the Nordic countries is included when applying for a new or renewed licence.

    Additional on-site inspection within the Nordic countries 541 EUR per visit.
    On-site inspection outside the Nordic region, but within Europe 1 625 EUR per visit.
    On-site inspection outside Europe 2 709 EUR per visit.
    Additional fee for on-site inspections lasting longer than one day 1 083 EUR per day.

    Ecolabelling Sweden AB has no financial profit purpose and is financed through the fees above along with an annual government grant. The company is however liable for VAT according to article 56 of the European Council Directive 2006/112/EC.

    Invoicing is made in SEK with the exchange rate from the first banking day of the year.

    When both the applicant and the manufacturer are micro-enterprises, the application fee is reduced by 50%. A micro-enterprise is in this context defined as an enterprise with less than 10 employees and an annual turnover (of both ecolabelled and not ecolabelled products) below 2 million EUR.

    • For new applications granted after 1 July, a fee reduction will apply for the first year. The minimum or maximum fee and any breakpoint will be multiplied by the result of the following formula: “number of remaining days in the year” x 2 / 365.
      Breakpoint = Turnover where the percentage changes in the calculation of licence fee.
      Minimum fee = the lowest licence fee Nordic ecolabelling annually invoices a company or a Group per product/ commodity group/ certifying country.

      Should a former holder of a license/registration continue to make use of the Nordic Ecolabel without being granted a new license/registration, the Nordic Ecolabelling organization reserves the right to claim financial compensation. The size of such compensation shall be equivalent to the turnover-based license fee that a licensee would have been required to pay for a license, and a financial penalty, the severity of which is determined by the extent and duration of the infringement as well as the damages that Nordic Ecolabelling may have incurred as a result of such misuse. Such a financial penalty should not normally be less than EUR 4,000 (four thousand). The Nordic Ecolabelling organizations may also take legal action against the infringement of the Nordic Ecolabel or if rules in the prevailing version of the Logo Guideline for the Nordic Ecolabel are not fulfilled.

    Fee regulations for Nordic Ecolabellling

  • Information on the latest version of the criteria for cosmetic products

    4.0: New criteria generation

    The new generation criteria, 4.0, was adopted on November 4, 2024, and is valid until February 28, 2030.

    3.15 ⇛ 3.16: Adjustment of the criteria

    On 13 August 2024, Nordic Ecolabelling decided to allow IFS standard for Household and Personal care as an alternative to ISO9001 (Appendix 1). The new version is called 3.16.

    3.14 ⇛ 3.15: Prolongation of the validity of the criteria

    On 12 March 2024, Nordic Ecolabelling decided to extend the criteria to 2026-06-30 for rinse-off and 2026-12-31 for leave-on in order to ensure a long enough overlap in terms of time with the upcoming generation 4 of the criteria. The new version is called 3.15.

    3.13 ⇛ 3.14: Adjustment of the criteria

    Adjustment of requirement O4 by clarifying that the maximum permitted content of amidoamine in the exception to the ban on sensitizing substances depends on the active content of the betaine raw material.

    The new version is called 3.14 and is valid until 31 December 2024.

    3.12 ⇛ 3.13: Adjustments of the criteria

    • Requirement O13: The ban on preservatives, antibacterial disinfectants and antimicrobials for purposes other than preserving the product itself is abolished.
    • Requirement O5: silver, collodidal silver and nanosilver may no longer be included in the product
    • Furthermore, products marketed as antibacterial, antimicrobial, antiseptic and/or disinfectant can no longer carry the Nordic Swan Ecolabel

    The new version is called 3.13 and is valid until 31 December 2024.

    3.11 ⇛ 3.12: Adjustments of the criteria

    The adjustment consists of the extention of the exemption for titanium dioxide in requirement O4. 

    The new version i called 3.12 and is valid until 31 December 2024.

    3.10 ⇛ 3.11: Adjustments and prolongation of the validity of the criteria

    The following requirements have been adjusted:

    • O5 Substances that may not be included in the product: Exceptions for film-forming ingredients for sunscreen products.
    • O18 aNBO and anNBO and O19 Critical dilution volume (CDV): Solid shampoo and conditioner products and shower cream in solid form must meet the limit values for rinse-off products.

    The period of validity of the criteria was prolonged with 12 months. The new version, 3.11, is valid until 31 December 2024.

    3.9 ⇛ 3.10: Adjustment to the criteria

    The following requirements have been adjusted:

    • O4 Classification of constituent substances. A time-limited exemption for titanium dioxide has been introduced.
    • O5 Substances that may not be included in the product: antibacterial, disinfectant and antimicrobial substances (excluding preservatives) were added to the list of prohibited substances for clarification (the substances were already excluded by requirement O13).
    • O13 Preservatives and antibacterial agents were adjusted for clarification.
    • O32 Information text. Specific products were adjusted so that wet wipes marked in accordance with the EU Disposable Plastics Directive are exempted from the requirement.• 

    The new version, 3.10, is valid until December 31, 2023.

    3.8 ⇛ 3.9: Adjustment to the criteria

    Adjustment of requirement O5 Prohibited substances. The new version, 3.9, is valid until 31 December 2023.

    3.7 ⇛ 3.8: Adjustment to the criteria

    Adjustment of aluminum content in different product types. The new version, 3.8, is valid until 31 December 2023.

    3.6 ⇛ 3.7: Adjustments and prolongation of the validity of the criteria

    The following requirements have been adjusted:

    O4 - Sensitizing amidoamine is approved as a contaminant in Cocamidopropyl Betaine
    O5 - Organic UV filters TBPT and MBBT are exempted from banning nanomaterials. Furthermore, it was stated in the background that Amorph Silica (SAS) is regarded as nanomaterial according to SCCS: opinion and is not exempted from the ban on nanoparticles.
    O11 - The requirement for metals in dyes.

    In addition, the period of validity of the criteria has been extended by 24 months.

    The new version, 3.7, is valid until 31 December 2023.

    3.5 ⇛ 3.6: Adjustment to the criteria

    The pH range of the claim "mild" for toothpaste has been adjusted. At the same time, Annex 5 has been clarified. The new version, 3.6, is valid until 31 December 2021.

    3.4 ⇛ 3.5: Adjustment to the criteria

    Requirements O22 (Aroma and FL numbers in toothpaste and oral products), O30 (Documentation of organic raw materials) and Appendix 8 (claim mild / gentle) and background text to O20 have been changed. The new version, 3.5, is valid until 31 December 2021.

    3.3 ⇛ 3.4: Adjustment to the criteria

    Requirement O29 Dosability / Dosing systems end emptying level and appendices 1 och 2 have been adjusted. Some editorial errors have also been corrected in both the Swedish and the English edition of the criteria. The new version, 3.4, is valid until 31 december 2021.

    3.2 ⇛ 3.3: Extension of the criteria

    The criteria have been extended with sex products. The new requirement can be found under the passage "Products not covered by the Cosmetic Regulation": O25b Sex products. The new version is called 3.3 and is valid until 31 December 2021.

    3.1 ⇛ 3.2: Adjustment to the criteria

    • O26 Amount of packaging: A new packaging category for plastic packaging under pressure has been added. Appendix 2 has been corrected.
    • O34 The claim mild/gentle: Clarifications have been made in the requirement and in Appendix 8.
    • O43 Take-back system: The requirement has been removed.

    The new version is called 3.2 and is valid until 2021-12-31.

    3.0 ⇛ 3.1: Adjustment to the criteria

    • O5 Prohibited substances: Small amounts of BHT allowed in perfumes.
    • Several errors in both the Swedish and the English versions were corrected.
    • Appendix 2 was corrected.

    The new version is called 3.1 and is valid until 2021-12-31.

    3.0: New criteria generation

    The new generation criteria, 3.0, was published on November 8th 2016 and is valid until December 31st 2021.

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