Here is the regulatory text below but know that there is also a very interesting blog article on the subject here .

You will become an expert, enjoy reading ;-)

I. Objective

These specifications aim to regulate the use of the “Vegan” claim which may be mentioned on certain products concerned by the Laboratoires Novexpert brand.

II. Regulatory Framework

In Europe, vegan cosmetic products are, like all cosmetic products, subject to Cosmetic Regulation (EC) No. 1223/2009, they must therefore meet the same quality and safety requirements as a standard cosmetic product. However, there is no specificity associated with the "vegan" criterion. Novexpert laboratories' products as well as the raw materials used by Novexpert laboratories comply with the appropriate legislation, in particular the European Regulation on Cosmetic Products (EC No. 1223/2009) as amended and the Commission Regulation on Claims (No. 655/2013).

III. Scope

To be certified “Vegan”, these products must meet the criteria defined for:

• Origin of ingredients

• Composition of the finished product

• Manufacturing and packaging

IV. Definitions

In the context of these specifications, the following definitions apply.

• Cosmetic ingredient - (definition taken from Regulation (EC) No. 1223/2009)

Any chemical substance or preparation of synthetic or natural origin used in the composition of cosmetic products. The following elements should not be considered as ingredients:

o Impurities in the raw materials used,

o Subsidiary technical substances used during manufacturing, but not found in the composition of the finished product.

• Cosmetic product - (definition taken from Regulation (EC) No. 1223/2009)

Any substance or preparation intended to be placed in contact with the superficial parts of the human body (epidermis, hair and capillary systems, nails, lips and external genital organs) or with the teeth and oral mucous membranes with a view, exclusively or mainly, to cleaning them, perfuming them, changing their appearance, protecting them, keeping them in good condition or correcting body odours.

• Natural ingredients

Natural ingredients are a category that includes water, mineral ingredients, and ingredients that are cultivated or raised. In a product, these ingredients can be incorporated:

o Raw, that is to say as they were harvested (Water, plants, minerals, honey, wax, milk, etc.)

o After being extracted or physically treated: for example, pressing or grinding a seed, macerating a plant, etc. The following ingredients are not of natural origin: petrochemical fractions, preservatives and denaturing agents of petrochemical origin.

• Ingredients of natural origin

Ingredients of natural origin refer to all ingredients that are not obtained from petroleum. They include physically transformed natural ingredients (presented above), as well as natural ingredients that have been extracted or chemically treated according to the principles of green chemistry, i.e. ingredients for which a chemical reaction between several natural elements was necessary to allow their manufacture (for example: fermentation, saponification, etc.)

• Plant origin

Plant-based ingredients are extracted from plants: roots, leaves, fruits, seeds, tree bark, etc.

• Animal origin

These are all the ingredients that make up the animal or are produced by it. These can be cartilage, collagen, milk, honey, eggs, etc.

• Mineral origin

Mineral ingredients come from rocks, sediments, sand or even earth. This category includes ingredients such as zinc, iron, clay, silica, salt, etc. Water is also considered mineral.

• Synthetic origin

Synthetic products are either chemically transformed or derived from synthetic molecules, i.e. manufactured by man. It may be necessary to integrate chemical ingredients into certain products while waiting for a natural alternative to be discovered.

• Vegan

A product/raw material called vegan is free from any substance of animal origin (products from breeding, slaughter, hunting and fishing).

V. Selection criteria: Raw materials

• Origin: vegetable, mineral or synthetic

All raw materials used in Novexpert Laboratories products are either of plant, mineral or synthetic origin. We do not use any substances of animal origin in products carrying the Vegan claim.

• GMO Free

We can say that a product does not contain GMOs when:

o On the one hand, the raw material has not undergone any genetic modification,

o On the other hand, the raw material has been genetically modified but the ingredient, in the end, no longer contains GMOs, for example following an advanced purification process. There is no specific framework that specifies or limits the use of GMOs for the cosmetics industry in Europe. The regulation of cosmetic products, Regulation (EC) No. 1223/2009, does not mention the issue of GMOs and does not impose any requirements or restrictions. Therefore, the rules and regulations specific to other industrial sectors, particularly food, may be interesting to consider.

We systematically ask our raw material suppliers for a GMO-free certificate.

• No animal testing

In Europe, the ban on animal testing of finished cosmetic products has been in force since 11 September 2004, while the ban on testing of ingredients or combinations has been in force since 11 March 2009. The marketing ban has been in force since 11 March 2009 for all effects on human health except for repeated dose toxicity, reproductive toxicity and toxicokinetics. For these specific health effects, the ban on testing has been in force since 11 March 2013, regardless of the availability of alternative methods to animal testing.

We systematically ask our raw material suppliers for a certificate of absence of animal testing in accordance with European Regulation (EC) No. 1223/2009.

All these documents are classified in the raw material files (Composition and Process-Origin files) and are also entered for each raw material on Coptis.

VI. Manufacturing and packaging

In accordance with European Regulation (EC) No. 1223/2009, Laboratoires Novexpert brand products are manufactured and packaged in accordance with Good Manufacturing Practices.

VII. Finished products

In accordance with European Regulation (EC) No. 1223/2009, Laboratoires Novexpert brand products are not tested on animals. For each product, we have a declaration of non-testing on animals attached to the human health safety assessment report of the cosmetic product in question.

This report is available in the DIP file of each product, more precisely in the safety assessment file.

This declaration states that the product has not been subject to animal testing in accordance with Article 18 of Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009.