NATRUE is a German association founded in 2007 from the need to provide an international certification to provide clarity to the consumer and the opportunity for manufacturing companies to develop on a wider market thanks to the uniformity of standards for the conformity of product formulations and production processes. NATRUE members are pioneering companies in natural cosmetics in Europe.
First of all, all cosmetics, natural and organic or not, must comply with EU Regulation 1223/2009 on Cosmetics. Consequently, they must guarantee safety, efficacy and efficiency without exception, in order to be legitimately placed on the market.
Organic production is regulated by Council Regulation (EC) No 834/2007.
For the different types of cosmetic products identified by NATRUE, namely Natural Cosmetics, Natural Cosmetics with organic components and Organic Cosmetics, specific percentages of minimum contents are required to obtain certification.
Natural Cosmetic: to obtain it, the list of permitted ingredients and the methods for their processing must be respected, as well as the limits of the minimum content of natural substances and the maximum content of natural-similar substances. Each type of product has different criteria (for example, those applicable to a shower gel are different from those applicable to a cream) due to their different function of use.
Natural Cosmetic with Organic Components: in addition to the requirements for natural cosmetics, 70% of the natural substances present in the product must come from controlled organic sources and/or from controlled spontaneous collections certified by a certification body or a duly recognized body.
Organic Cosmetic: in addition to the requirements of the previous categories, 95% of the natural substances present in the product must come from controlled organic sources and/or from controlled spontaneous collections certified by a certification body or a duly recognized institution.
Brands such as Weleda, Dr. Scheller, Sante Naturkosmetik are Natrue certified.