Competition over US natural and organic standards intensifies

Currently there are three primary standards on the market – the NPA standard, the NSF ANSI 305 and the USDA NOP organic standard.

According to market researcher Organic Monitor, the NPA standard is the most successful natural cosmetics in the US, but the NSF ANSI standard is steadily gaining momentum, while the USDA NOP standard continues to gain in popularity, despite being designed around organic food products.

Natrue eyes the US market​

However, competition amongst these players is about to hot up with the recent announcement that Belgium-based body Natrue is about to team up with NSF ANSI to launch a new standard with more clout.

This move is likely to raise the profile of the NSF ANSI standard, providing a direct competition for a dedicated standard in the market for natural and organic cosmetics in the United States.

But Organic Monitor points out that Natrue is fighting a battle on two fronts, as it is also in competition with the newly up and running Cosmos standard in the European market.

Racing for a pan-European and -US standard​

Currently both bodies are racing to forge a unified pan-European standard for natural and organic products, but Cosmos is off to a strong start, having already secured six members, with access to a total of over 10,000 products.

With all of these respective certification bodies already well established in their respective markets, Organic Monitor believes that the battle to unify the natural certification process in both Europe and the US could be a long and drawn out affair.

The issue of natural cosmetics standards will play a focal part of the forthcoming Sustainable Cosmetics Summit, to be held in New York from May 12 – 14. For more information about this event, please click here​.