Every consumer when choosing a new cosmetic product, a product he is not familiar with, will familiarize himself with it by reading the information and messages printed on the product label.
In addition to legally required elements, the product label in most cases contains a short description of what the consumer can expect from the product, two to three shorter sentences in which the manufacturer addresses the potential consumer, presents it in its best light, and tries to persuade the consumer into buying a certain product. Along with the text, illustrations, symbols, etc. can often be seen on the product label, and they all serve as a communication channel between manufacturer and consumer.
There is nothing wrong with that as long as consumers are not manipulated, or misled, health claims are not made, and miracle effects are not attributed, in fact as long as the legal requirements are respected. In the strong desire for positioning on the market, but sometimes due to the lack of knowledge and understanding of manufacturers, and marketing experts also, these legal requirements are violated.
To protect consumers from malicious, dishonest and misleading moves by manufacturers, Article 20 of the Cosmetics Regulation[1] defines the manner of advertising, therefore all claims are allowed as long as they do not violate this article i.e., as long as they do not mislead the consumer. Article 20 specifically refers to product claims and point 1 states that: „In the labelling, making available on the market and advertising of cosmetic products, text, names, trademarks, pictures and figurative or other signs shall not be used to imply that these products have characteristics or functions which they do not have.“ This article applies to any claim, explicit or implicit, irrespective of the medium or type of marketing tool used (websites, social networks, newspaper ads, television shows, promotional leaflets, brochures, magazines, a review of an influencer or a public figure etc.), the product functions claimed, and the target audience.
Moreover, The Commission adopted common criteria by the Claims Regulation[2] for the justification of claims made concerning cosmetic products and established 6 common criteria for claims, and all of these must be taken into consideration when advertising: legal compliance, truthfulness, evidential support, honesty, fairness, informed decision-making.
These are the most common examples of violation of the criteria from the Claims Regulation in practice:
- Legal compliance – The manufacturer points out that its cosmetic products or production itself are in compliance with legal requirements, or the products do not contain ingredients that are prohibited when it is known that every manufacturer that operates legally and every product that is legally on the EU market must comply with legal requirements and cannot contain prohibited ingredient(s). Usually, manufacturers emphasize that their production is compliant with good manufacturing practice guidelines or that products are notified to Cosmetic Products Notification Portal (CPNP).
- Truthfulness – The manufacturer misrepresents that a cosmetic product contains an ingredient that is not present in the product. To clarify with an example, the manufacturer presents that the product contains honey, even though it contains only the aroma of honey. If a cosmetic product is claimed to contain a certain ingredient, that ingredient must explicitly be present in the product.
- Evidential support – manufacturers can refer to different types of evidential support to substantiate their claims. Some examples of proof of claims are experimental studies, consumer perception tests, publications or a combination of these. The methods used should be reliable and reproducible, and the studies should follow a well-designed and scientifically valid methodology. Studies have to be scientifically and statistically valid and conducted by a qualified and adequately experienced person. Most often manufacturers claim the specific effect of a cosmetic product based on the fact that the product contains an ingredient of such or similar effect, but without any studies carried out to substantiate the claim. In other words, the manufacturer highlights the function of one of the substances to be the function of the final product. The most commonly manipulated effect is the moisturizing effect.
- Honesty – by presenting the cosmetic product, the manufacturer leads the consumer to believe that using a specific product will solve his problem or fulfil a desire, in an extremely short period of time, or falsely attributes to it an effect that the product simply does not have, due to the low concentration of the active substance in the product. A very simple and quite common example is a promise that the product removes wrinkles within a few days. Claims stating a cosmetic product’s therapeutic effect or biocidal effects can be found on the market also.
- Fairness – The manufacturer defames competitors and legally permitted ingredients with claims. Most often manufacturer tries to present themselves as better than the competition in some way and present their cosmetic products, with the same or similar purpose or effect, as better and more effective than the competition’s. It is most often manipulated with preservatives and fragrances of synthetic origin. For example, the claim “free from parabens” is attractive for marketing purposes, but it denigrates legally authorised ingredients. On the other hand, claims addressing the absence of ingredients such as alcohol, essential oils or soap are considered to be compliant as the consumer needs to be able to choose to avoid these ingredients for specific reasons such as allergies.
- Informed decision-making – the manufacturer uses technical terms, and insufficiently clear and comprehensible language for the average consumer, regardless of the consumer’s age and level of education, which prevents the consumer from making an informed choice. The most frequently used technical terms related to the mechanism of action of specific active substances.
At the end of all the above, if the consumer is misled, this is then referred to as a criminal offense, because advertised claims were not properly stated and/or proven.
Because formulating claims is very delicate and slippery ground, smart claims are a state of verbal and graphic art. Smart claims are puns, anagrams, and expressions of literary creativity in which respect for the law and the consumer is felt, and should not be left to editing by people from fields not related to the cosmetic industry, cosmetic beginners, or cosmetic experts with none or too little experience with this subject.
No manufacturer wants to take such a risk and therefore should never refrain from carefully checking their claims or consulting experienced cosmetic experts before using them in advertising.
Aromatični Kutak Ltd.
Brune Bušića 21
Zagreb, Croatia
T. +385 98 1750 934
References:
[1] Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 of the European Parliament and the Council of 30 November 2009 on cosmetic products
[2] Regulation (EU) No 655/2013 of 10 July 2013 laying down common criteria for the justification of claims used in relation to cosmetic products
