3. Cosmetic products 090

Cosmetic products 090

The product group includes all the types of products that fall under the EU Cosmetics Regulation, eg. products for skin and hair care, sun protection products and decorative cosmetics. In addition, it is also possible to Nordic Swan Ecolabel care products for animals, sex products whose composition is similar to cosmetic products (eg. lube and anal cream) and wet wipes.

Products covered by the Biocides Regulation cannot be Nordic Swan Ecolabelled.

The substances that are part of a Nordic Swan Ecolabelled cosmetic product must live up to strict environmental and chemical requirements. This means that the use of a number of drugs is prohibited. In addition, there are requirements for the design of the packaging in order to both limit material consumption and waste of the products.

The requirements include:

  • Environmental properties (degradability, bioaccumulability and toxicity to aquatic organisms) of the chemical substances used.
  • No use of substances classified as carcinogenic, mutagenic, harmful to reproduction or allergenic.
  • No use of substances on the EU list of substances suspected of being endocrine disruptors.
  • No perfume in baby and baby products.
  • Packaging volume and degree of emptying for different types of packaging.

Below you will find all the necessary documents and background information to apply for the Nordic Swan Ecolabel.

    1. Start your application process by reading the criteria document and find out if your product can obtain the Nordic Swan Ecolabel. 
    2. Read your Application Guide.
    3. Request login credentials.
    4. Now you are ready to enter the Nordic Ecolabelling Portal.

     

    Portal sign in                               Get login credentials

     

    Should you wish to transfer your licence, please use this form. 

  • Fees valid from 1 January 2024

    The criteria document for cosmetic products is an overall document for the commodity groups:

    • Shampoo, conditioner, soap and toothpaste.
    • Sunscreen and after-sun products.
    • Wet wipes.
    • Other cosmetic products.
    • Products outside the scope of the Cosmetics Regulation.

    If you have several products within the same commodity group that are manufactured in the same production site, they are considered as one single licence. Application fees are paid per licence while the annual fee is paid across all licences in the product group.

    Type of fee Amount
    Application fee including one on-site inspection within the Nordic region *) 3 251 EUR + VAT, however not less than 778 EUR + VAT per formulation/recipe
    Renewal fee* 1 625 EUR + VAT, however not less than 389 EUR + VAT per formulation/recipe
    More than one inspection visit within the Nordic region** 541 EUR + VAT per visit
    Inspection visits in Europe** 1 625 EUR + VAT per visit
    Inspection visits outside Europe** 2 709 EUR + VAT per visit
    Extension of existing licence*** Extension of existing or changes in licence

    < 4 hours: 406 EUR + VAT
    < 8 hours: 812 EUR + VAT
    ≥ 8 hours: 1 625 EUR + VAT
     

    If the extension includes new formulations/recipes, prices are the same as those applicable to amendments to an existing licence, however not less than 812 EUR + VAT per formulations/recipe.

    Annual licence fee: The annual licence fee for the Nordic Swan Ecolabelled products is based on their turnover in the Nordic countries.

    		 0,3% of turnover + VAT per year for 0 - 50 million EUR. 

    0,05% of turnover + VAT per year for > 50 million EUR.
    Minimum fee for Nordic region 2 167 EUR + VAT per year
    Maximum fee for Nordic region No maximum fee

    Fees for sale outside the Nordic region          
    (Only if revenue > 300 000 EUR per year)

    		 2 167 EUR + VAT per year


    *Certain non cosmetic care products, which are not covered by the cosmetics regulation, may be licensed with the Nordic Swan Ecolabel in order to the criteria of the product group definition. These non cosmetic care products are collected in a separate commodity with a separate fee.

    ** When both the applicant and the manufacturer are micro-enterprises, the fee is reduced by 50%. A micro-enterprise is in this context defined as an enterprise with less than 10 employees and an annual turnover (of both ecolabelled and not ecolabelled products) below 2 million EUR.

    *** Where audits requires more than one day away from the office including travelling, Nordic Ecolabelling can invoice an additional fee of 1 083 EUR per extra day. Other extraordinary costs induced by the audit can also be invoiced the applicant.

    **** As for an extension of or amendments to a licence, time consumed in connection with the review process will be invoiced according to the extent of the required task. We make a distinction between entirely administrative tasks that last less than 1 hour, and all other tasks that last between 1 and 4 hours, between 4 and 8 hours and more than 8 hours.

    The recipient is liable for the VAT according to article 56 of the Council Directive 2006/112/EC.
    All information given on this site is subject to a disclaimer for errors and omissions

     

    Fees valid from 1 January 2023

    The criteria document for cosmetic products is an overall document for the commodity groups:

    • Shampoo, conditioner, soap and toothpaste.
    • Sunscreen and after-sun products.
    • Wet wipes.
    • Other cosmetic products.
    • Products outside the scope of the Cosmetics Regulation.

    If you have several products within the same commodity group that are manufactured in the same production site, they are considered as one single licence. Application fees are paid per licence while the annual fee is paid across all licences in the product group.

    Type of fee Amount
    Application fee including one on-site inspection within the Nordic region *) 3 114 EUR + VAT, however not less than 778 EUR + VAT per formulation/recipe
    Renewal fee* 1 557 EUR + VAT, however not less than 389 EUR + VAT per formulation/recipe
    More than one inspection visit within the Nordic region** 519 EUR + VAT per visit
    Inspection visits in Europe** 1 557 EUR + VAT per visit
    Inspection visits outside Europe** 2 595 EUR + VAT per visit
    Extension of existing licence*** Extension of existing or changes in licence

    < 4 hours: 389 EUR + VAT
    < 8 hours: 778 EUR + VAT
    ≥ 8 hours: 1 557 EUR + VAT
     

    If the extension includes new formulations/recipes, prices are the same as those applicable to amendments to an existing licence, however not less than 778 EUR + VAT per formulations/recipe.
    Annual licence fee for Nordic region 0,3% of turnover + VAT per year for 0 - 50 million EUR. 

    0,05% of turnover + VAT per year for > 50 million EUR.
    Minimum fee for Nordic region 2 076 EUR + VAT per year
    Maximum fee for Nordic region No maximum fee

    Fees for sale outside the Nordic region          
    (Only if revenue > 300 000 EUR per year)

    		 2 076 EUR + VAT per year


    *Certain non cosmetic care products, which are not covered by the cosmetics regulation, may be licensed with the Nordic Swan Ecolabel in order to the criteria of the product group definition. These non cosmetic care products are collected in a separate commodity with a separate fee.

    ** When both the applicant and the manufacturer are micro-enterprises, the fee is reduced by 50%. A micro-enterprise is in this context defined as an enterprise with less than 10 employees and an annual turnover (of both ecolabelled and not ecolabelled products) below 2 million EUR.

    *** Where audits requires more than one day away from the office including travelling, Nordic Ecolabelling can invoice an additional fee of 1 038 EUR per extra day. Other extraordinary costs induced by the audit can also be invoiced the applicant.

    **** As for an extension of or amendments to a licence, time consumed in connection with the review process will be invoiced according to the extent of the required task. We make a distinction between entirely administrative tasks that last less than 1 hour, and all other tasks that last between 1 and 4 hours, between 4 and 8 hours and more than 8 hours.

    The recipient is liable for the VAT according to article 56 of the Council Directive 2006/112/EC.
    All information given on this site is subject to a disclaimer for errors and omissions

  • In the criteria document, you can read about how to document and verify compliance for each requirement. You can also find other application documents here.

  • Information on the latest version of the criteria for cosmetic products

    3.14 ⇛ 3.15: Prolongation of the validity of the criteria

    On 12 March 2024, Nordic Ecolabelling decided to extend the criteria to 2026-06-30 for rinse-off and 2026-12-31 for leave-on in order to ensure a long enough overlap in terms of time with the upcoming generation 4 of the criteria. The new version is called 3.15.

    3.13 ⇛ 3.14: Adjustment of the criteria

    Adjustment of requirement O4 by clarifying that the maximum permitted content of amidoamine in the exception to the ban on sensitizing substances depends on the active content of the betaine raw material.

    The new version is called 3.14 and is valid until 31 December 2024.

    3.12 ⇛ 3.13: Adjustments of the criteria

    • Requirement O13: The ban on preservatives, antibacterial disinfectants and antimicrobials for purposes other than preserving the product itself is abolished.
    • Requirement O5: silver, collodidal silver and nanosilver may no longer be included in the product
    • Furthermore, products marketed as antibacterial, antimicrobial, antiseptic and/or disinfectant can no longer carry the Nordic Swan Ecolabel

    The new version is called 3.13 and is valid until 31 December 2024.

    3.11 ⇛ 3.12: Adjustments of the criteria

    The adjustment consists of the extention of the exemption for titanium dioxide in requirement O4. 

    The new version i called 3.12 and is valid until 31 December 2024.

    3.10 ⇛ 3.11: Adjustments and prolongation of the validity of the criteria

    The following requirements have been adjusted:

    • O5 Substances that may not be included in the product: Exceptions for film-forming ingredients for sunscreen products.
    • O18 aNBO and anNBO and O19 Critical dilution volume (CDV): Solid shampoo and conditioner products and shower cream in solid form must meet the limit values for rinse-off products.

    The period of validity of the criteria was prolonged with 12 months. The new version, 3.11, is valid until 31 December 2024.

    3.9 ⇛ 3.10: Adjustment to the criteria

    The following requirements have been adjusted:

    • O4 Classification of constituent substances. A time-limited exemption for titanium dioxide has been introduced.
    • O5 Substances that may not be included in the product: antibacterial, disinfectant and antimicrobial substances (excluding preservatives) were added to the list of prohibited substances for clarification (the substances were already excluded by requirement O13).
    • O13 Preservatives and antibacterial agents were adjusted for clarification.
    • O32 Information text. Specific products were adjusted so that wet wipes marked in accordance with the EU Disposable Plastics Directive are exempted from the requirement.• 

    The new version, 3.10, is valid until December 31, 2023.

    3.8 ⇛ 3.9: Adjustment to the criteria

    Adjustment of requirement O5 Prohibited substances. The new version, 3.9, is valid until 31 December 2023.

    3.7 ⇛ 3.8: Adjustment to the criteria

    Adjustment of aluminum content in different product types. The new version, 3.8, is valid until 31 December 2023.

    3.6 ⇛ 3.7: Adjustments and prolongation of the validity of the criteria

    The following requirements have been adjusted:

    O4 - Sensitizing amidoamine is approved as a contaminant in Cocamidopropyl Betaine
    O5 - Organic UV filters TBPT and MBBT are exempted from banning nanomaterials. Furthermore, it was stated in the background that Amorph Silica (SAS) is regarded as nanomaterial according to SCCS: opinion and is not exempted from the ban on nanoparticles.
    O11 - The requirement for metals in dyes.

    In addition, the period of validity of the criteria has been extended by 24 months.

    The new version, 3.7, is valid until 31 December 2023.

    3.5 ⇛ 3.6: Adjustment to the criteria

    The pH range of the claim "mild" for toothpaste has been adjusted. At the same time, Annex 5 has been clarified. The new version, 3.6, is valid until 31 December 2021.

    3.4 ⇛ 3.5: Adjustment to the criteria

    Requirements O22 (Aroma and FL numbers in toothpaste and oral products), O30 (Documentation of organic raw materials) and Appendix 8 (claim mild / gentle) and background text to O20 have been changed. The new version, 3.5, is valid until 31 December 2021.

    3.3 ⇛ 3.4: Adjustment to the criteria

    Requirement O29 Dosability / Dosing systems end emptying level and appendices 1 och 2 have been adjusted. Some editorial errors have also been corrected in both the Swedish and the English edition of the criteria. The new version, 3.4, is valid until 31 december 2021.

    3.2 ⇛ 3.3: Extension of the criteria

    The criteria have been extended with sex products. The new requirement can be found under the passage "Products not covered by the Cosmetic Regulation": O25b Sex products. The new version is called 3.3 and is valid until 31 December 2021.

    3.1 ⇛ 3.2: Adjustment to the criteria

    • O26 Amount of packaging: A new packaging category for plastic packaging under pressure has been added. Appendix 2 has been corrected.
    • O34 The claim mild/gentle: Clarifications have been made in the requirement and in Appendix 8.
    • O43 Take-back system: The requirement has been removed.

    The new version is called 3.2 and is valid until 2021-12-31.

    3.0 ⇛ 3.1: Adjustment to the criteria

    • O5 Prohibited substances: Small amounts of BHT allowed in perfumes.
    • Several errors in both the Swedish and the English versions were corrected.
    • Appendix 2 was corrected.

    The new version is called 3.1 and is valid until 2021-12-31.

    3.0: New criteria generation

    The new generation criteria, 3.0, was published on November 8th 2016 and is valid until December 31st 2021.

  • In the background document below you will find reasoning and facts behind the specific requirements in the criteria document.

    Here you can also read the comments, requirement for requirement, from the public hearing.

    If the documents are in a Nordic language, you can get help in understanding the sections you need by contacting the product specialist in your chosen country below.