Cosmos Organic

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COSMOS-organic is a certification standard for organic and natural cosmetics that is recognized by the International Accreditation Services. To obtain COSMOS-organic accreditation, an organization or product must meet the requirements of the COSMOS-organic standard, which includes requirements for the use of organic and natural ingredients, sustainable production practices, and environmental protection.

To obtain COSMOS-organic accreditation, an organization must apply to a COSMOS-organic-approved certification body. The certification body will assess the organization's or product's compliance with the COSMOS-organic standard, which may include an on-site audit of the organization's production facilities, an evaluation of the ingredients used in the products, and a review of the organization's or product's marketing and labeling practices.

COSMOS-organic accreditation is intended to help ensure that organic and natural cosmetics are produced in a way that is environmentally and socially responsible, and that meets the expectations of consumers who are interested in buying high-quality, sustainable products. Obtaining COSMOS-organic accreditation can be beneficial for organizations and products that want to demonstrate their commitment to sustainability and organic principles, and may help to increase customer trust and satisfaction.

Scheme owner:

The COSMOS scheme is a voluntary accreditation for organic and natural cosmetics which was established and is operated by COSMOS-standard.

Accreditation is provided by United States Accreditation Inc. or other accreditation bodies approved by COSMOS-standard. Accreditation is required to be performed in line with ISO IEC 17065.

The COSMOS Accreditation programme is open to any certification body which meets the requirements of the programme and has been pre-approved by the scheme owner. Approved certifiers sign a contract with COSMOS-standard AISBL and join the association as Associate Members. Forms for membership application, application for approval and the certifier contract with COSMOS can be downloaded for free from the COSMOS-standard AISBL web site.

On accreditation, certification bodies are required to conclude a contract with COSMOS-standard AISBL which includes payment of an annual fee. Contact details and approved scopes of the accredited CBs are published on the COSMOS web site.

Scheme requirements:

Certification Bodies applying for approval as COSMOS-standard certifiers must:

• simultaneously apply for (associate) membership of COSMOS-standard;
• have a valid accreditation to perform certification for at least one standard according to ISO 17065;
• be sufficiently qualified/have experienced staff to perform certification of the scopes for which they are applying;
• have developed clearly defined procedures for certification of the scopes for which they are applying; and
• certify against the COSMOS standard.

The requirements of the scheme are available in the COSMOS Control Manual and are based on the International Requirements for Organic Certification Bodies formulated by FAO, IFOAM and UNCTAD under the auspices of the International Task Force on Harmonisation and Equivalence in Organic Agriculture. Once authorised by COSMOS, the certification body must implement inspection/certification of products according to the COSMOS-standard without additional requirements, and/or existing own standards must be fully in accordance with the COSMOS-standard.

Operators can be certified under the following categories:

• Certification of cosmetic products under natural or organic certification and physically processed agro-ingredients not falling within the scope of existing recognized international or national organic standards.
• Certification of chemically processed agro-ingredients with organic content and approval of ingredients with no organic content that are acceptable for use under the COSMOS standard.