NPA Assumes Expanded Role: Advocate For Natural Cosmetics

The Natural Products Association has convened the first meeting of a committee to guide lobbying and advocacy work for personal-care members. NPA has actively backed the dietary supplement industry in legislative matters and now looks to provide similar support to natural/organic manufacturers facing a handful of cosmetics safety bills.

The Natural Products Association is taking on an expanded role as lobbyist and advocate for its cosmetics and personal-care members, starting with the formation of a committee representing their interests, NPA says.

In a June 26 interview with “The Rose Sheet,” NPA VP of Scientific and Regulatory Affairs Cara Welch said the committee met for the first time that day and its members are expected to be ratified by NPA's Board of Directors within 45 days.

The new committee will be chaired by Burt's Bees CEO Nick Vlahos, and NPA is hoping for a group of around eight or nine other personal-care representatives to serve on the committee.

Until now, NPA’s lobbying work for personal-care companies was minimal. “What we discovered in working with our cosmetic counterparts, is there is no representative just for natural [brands]” when it comes to legislation, Welch said

Many of the firms NPA will represent are certified under its seal program, which requires that formulas be made of at least 95% natural ingredients (excluding water). There are 76 companies making personal-care and home-care products that sport the certification seal on their products.

Welch noted that the Personal Care Products Council “does great work” for the personal-care industry as a whole, and the Independent Cosmetic Manufacturers and Distributors is a strong voice for smaller companies. However, there is a void for representation of natural and organic cosmetic marketers when it comes to their specific needs, she suggested.

The association is already an active lobbying force for the natural dietary supplement industry, whose interests it represented in discussions around the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act, which passed in 1994, among other pieces of game-changing legislation.

“We are well prepared for this,” Welch said, noting that NPA has contacts on Capitol Hill. Additionally, the association has good relations with committees whose work touches on cosmetics issues, including the House Energy and Commerce Sub-Committee on Health and the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee.

NPA Winds Up For Regs

NPA's decision to lobby for the cosmetics industry comes at a time when Congress is reviewing three pieces of legislation that call for an overhaul of cosmetics regulations.

The Cosmetic Safety Enhancement Act was introduced by Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., and Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J., on March 26, calling for cosmetics industry user fees to fund increased regulation and mandating that firms substantiate product safety (Also see "Cosmetics Legislative Plans Vie In Congress" - HBW Insight, 2 Apr, 2012.).

That bill is competing with the Council-backed Cosmetic Safety Amendments Act, introduced in April by Rep. Leonard Lance, R-N.J., as well as the Safe Cosmetics Act of 2011, sponsored by Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., and Ed Markey, D-Mass., and is supported by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics (Also see "Lawmakers Introduce Revamped Safe Cosmetics Act" - HBW Insight, 27 Jun, 2011.).

During a recent House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee meeting, legislators determined they did not have time to address potential cosmetics user fees under the Food and Drug Administration Reform Act of 2012, but were dedicated to address the issue via separate legislation (Also see "Pallone, Pitts Committed To Cosmetics Legislation In “This Congress”" - HBW Insight, 14 May, 2012.).

NPA is not stating exactly where it stands with respect to proposed legislation yet, as it first needs to solicit more input from the companies it represents. But Welch acknowledged that “whether it is implementing GMPs or starting up a new review process for cosmetics,” the bills under consideration contain provisions that will affect natural and organic marketers.

She said that regardless of which bill moves forward, the association wants to “get in on the groundwork” early on.

Formation of a cosmetics committee under NPA also will benefit its many members that are global companies. “We do have a few members on our committee – though it’s not official – from companies that are well versed in EU regulations,” Welch noted.

She cited Swiss company Weleda as a member that will serve as an “excellent” resource for NPA in that capacity.

Under the EU's Seventh Amendment to the Cosmetics Directive, ingredients and finished cosmetic products tested on animals will be banned in the EU by 2013. Meanwhile, companies face registration obligations under the EU’s Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals law, the next deadline for which is May 31, 2013 (Also see "EU Chemicals Agency Leverages 2010 Lessons To Ready Firms For REACH 2013" - HBW Insight, 10 Oct, 2011.).

NPA Certification Update

In a June 25 release, NPA reported that it has seen a recent spike in the number of natural certifications it has awarded. “American consumers and natural products manufacturers are flocking” to NPA’s certification program, the organization says.

Since March, certifications have risen by 30%, with more than 1,100 products and ingredients now carrying the seal. In total, 85,000 stores carry products with the seal, according to NPA.

“American consumers want to buy natural, but they get confused at the store because everyone claims their products are natural,” new NPA executive director and CEO John Shaw is quoted as saying. “The fact is that many are not, so how do shoppers know for sure? The answer is the NPA Natural Seal.”

NPA announced Shaw’s appointment June 12 (Also see "NPA’s Shaw Brings Lobbying “Template” To Natural Product Advocacy" - HBW Insight, 2 Jul, 2012.).