Cosmetics Directive


Council Directive 76/768/EEC of 1976-07-27 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to cosmetic products is the main European Union law on the safety of cosmetics. It was made under Art. 100 of the Treaty of Rome. By agreement, it is also applicable in the European Economic Area.
The directive defines a "cosmetic product" as "any substance or preparation intended for placing in contact with the various external parts of the human body or with the teeth and the mucous membranes of the oral cavity with a view exclusively or principally to cleaning them, perfuming them or protecting them in order to keep them in good condition, change their appearance or correct body odours."
The main part of the directive is the different lists of substances in the annexes:
The annexes are regularly amended to take account of new data on the safety of particular substances.

Animal testing

The 7th amendment to the law introduced provisions in relation to animal testing. It introduced a legal requirement to the labelling of 26 specific ingredients at certain concentration thresholds. It also prohibited the animal testing for cosmetic products since 2004 and cosmetic ingredients since March 2009. The amendment also prohibited, since 11 March 2009, to market cosmetic products containing ingredients which have been tested on animals. The amendment does not prohibit companies to use animal testing to fulfill regulatory requirements in other countries.