European “Free From” Claims

Last updated October 16 2023

Another regulation lays down the common criteria for the justification of claims used concerning cosmetic products. These six common criteria for claims are:

Legal ComplianceTruthfulness, Evidential Support, Honesty, Fairness, and Informed Decision-Making

In Europe, the Cosmetic Products Regulation EC No. 1223/2009 Article 20 summarizes the general guidelines on cosmetic claims. The initial publication was in 2013 and the latest update was in 2017. Additional information was added in 2017 to give clearer insight as to how the six Common Criteria apply to 'free-from' claims. These Annexes are applicable from 2019. It is important to mention that this technical document guidance is not legally binding, but the Common Criteria are.

Some example guidelines are:


Legal Compliance

"Free from" claims or claims with similar meaning should not be made concerning ingredients that are prohibited for use in cosmetics by Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009.

Ex. Hydroquinone-free claim is not allowed for skin care products since Hydroquinone is included in Annex II of EU Cosmetic Regulation.

Truthfulness

In case claims concerning the absence of ingredients are made about functional groups of ingredients that are defined in Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009, such as preservatives and colorants, the product should not contain any ingredient that belongs to the group as defined in this regulation.

If it is claimed on the product that it does not contain a specific ingredient(s), the ingredient should not be present or released. 

Ex. The claim ‘silicone-free’ should not be made if the product contains silicone. The claim 'free from Formaldehyde' is not allowed, if the product contains a formaldehyde-releasing ingredient (e.g. Diazolidinyl Urea).

Related Topics

Honesty

  • "Free from" claims or claims with similar meaning should not be allowed when they refer to an ingredient that is typically not used in a particular kind of cosmetic product. 

    Ex. “Preservative-free” claim is not allowed in perfume products that have high alcohol content since preservative is not necessary in these formats.

  • "Free from" claims or claims with similar meanings should not be allowed when they imply guaranteed properties of the product, based on the absence of (an) ingredient(s), which cannot be given.
    Ex. The claim 'free from allergenic/sensitizing substances' is not allowed. A complete absence of the risk of an allergic reaction cannot be guaranteed and the product should not give the impression that it does.

  • "Free from" claims or claims with similar meaning addressing functional groups of ingredients should not be allowed if the product contains ingredients with multiple functions and among these is the function that the product is claimed to be free from. Exceptions might be possible (e.g. based on challenge test results of the formula without the particular ingredient(s)).
    Ex. The claim 'free from preservatives' should not be used when a product contains (an) ingredient(s) showing a protective effect against microorganisms, which are not included in Annex V of Regulation 1223/2009, e. g. alcohol.

  • The claim 'free from perfume' should not be used when a product contains an ingredient that exerts a perfuming function in the product, regardless of its other possible functions in the product.

Fairness

Claims for cosmetic products should be objective and should not denigrate the competitors, nor should they denigrate ingredients legally used.

Ex. ‘Low in allergens because without preservatives’ is unfair because it assumes that all preservatives are allergenic; or ‘free from allergens’ if the only reference is not using preservatives.

Certain parabens are safe when used in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009. Considering the fact that all cosmetic products must be safe, the claim 'free from parabens' should not be accepted, because it is denigrating the entire group of parabens.

Phenoxyethanol and triclosan are safe when used according to the Cosmetics Regulation. Hence the claim free from these substances should not be accepted because it is denigrating authorized substances.

Informed Decision Making

"Free from" claims or claims with similar meanings should be permitted when they allow an informed choice to a specific target group or groups of end users. 

Ex. The following claims should be permitted if they also comply with the other common criteria:

'free from alcohol', e.g. in a mouthwash intended as a family product;

'free from animal-derived ingredients', e.g. in products intended for vegans; or

'free from acetone', e.g. in nail polish, for users wishing to avoid its particular smell.

Important Information about “Free-From Claims” from Skin Match Technology
Our product transparency solutions may provide you with “Free-From Claims” for requested EANs. We generate these claims based on the ingredients available in our product database and per applicable category. To create a worldwide usable feature we apply the strongest regulations possible. In the case of “Free-From Claims” the EU Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009.

The JavaScript automatically only displays the regulated “Free-From Claims”.
The JSON (API) solution delivers a very broad list of “Free-Froms” that can be used for filters and other functionalities in e-commerce and an additional marked list for the regulated “Free-From Claims”. Our guidance to clients using the JSON (API) would be to list only the regulated “Free-From Claims” with each product and use the other free-from claims only for navigation and sorting purposes. But ultimately it is up to the client on which “Free-From Claims” they will use, integrate and/or display.

Evidence

The absence of (a) specific ingredient(s) should be demonstrated by the brand with adequate and verifiable evidence.