Cosmetics labelling in Australia gets regulatory attention

In remarks to the Cosmetic and Personal Care Conference, Delia Rickard, deputy chair of the ACCC, explained the reason for renewed attention to these regulatory matters as well as how the body is dealing with them.

Under the law​
The ACCC, an independent government authority, ensures that business and individuals comply with the country’s laws governing consumer protection, competition, and fair trade.

Richardson spoke at the conference to keep the industry informed from a regulatory perspective and, in particular, to talk about how the body is responding to the fact that “cosmetics were the source of approximately 30 per cent of total injury reports received by the ACCC in the past year,”​ according to a transcript of her speech.

Understand and correct​
“We appreciate the nature of cosmetic products and the frequency in which they are used. And, it could also be said that the cosmetic industry is better at self reporting than other sectors,”​
acknowledged Richardson.

Richardson went on to say that the Product Safety Branch has long been working to find useful data explaining why claims are distinctly high in the cosmetics sector.

Audits, surveys and surveillance ​
The branch has run audits across cosmetics categories to determine how widespread the issue is and if reports correlate to trends. It turns out that many injury reports pointed to face and body washes and creams as well as deodorants.

Surveys discovered over 20% of ingredient lists that didn’t meet standard criteria and found that water-based products presented a risk because of a higher incidence of opportunistic pathogens. “It is a timely reminder as the trend to produce all natural and all organic products may increase pressure on manufacturers to produce cosmetics with less preservatives or less effective natural preservatives,” ​said Richardson.

Using surveillance, the commission found 16 of 202 select retailers between July and September (2014) selling products that didn’t comply with the national legal standard. The ACCC intends to announce its latest surveillance findings later this month. And, an educational initiative of sorts is in the mix, raising awareness of the industry standards and expectations.

Quality, effectiveness, and marketing claims​
To oversimplify the standard here, Don’t lie! Consumers “rely on suppliers to provide accurate and truthful information.” ​Therefore, “Companies should not claim products are of a particular quality or standard when they are not,”​ Richardson told conference attendees.

Whether online, in printed material or multimedia advertising, companies must “not make any claims that products are of a particular standard or have a particular quality when they do not,”​ clarified Cate Sendall and Karina Chong in their Lexology article analysing the conference takeaways.

Sendell is a senior associate with Addison, advising clients in and beyond consumer goods on regulatory and compliance issues. She goes on, “Any claim or representation about the product must have evidence to support the claim. As with a failure to comply with the Standard, a breach of these provisions may result in a significant penalty of up to $1.1 million.”​