The NPA Natural Seal Program

NPA Marketplace

June 14, 2012

The Natural Seal

Natural Standard - Our Mission

To help consumers maximize their health and well-being by working with the natural product industry at large to define standards, certify products, and ultimately promote and make it easy to identify truly natural personal care products.

Why Now?

• The Natural Products industry has finally reached critical mass:

• Consumers: Increasingly building interest and buying natural as part of a global well-being phenomenon

• Retailers: Developing Natural Sections• Industry: Is outpacing conventional 5 to 1• Suppliers: Commercializing natural and environmental

efforts

• The time is right to make a difference to help our consumers maximize their health and well-being

• That difference is the development of The NPA Natural Seal

Yankelovich Study – 2007

Beliefs regarding natural personal care products

• 78% think Natural Personal Care is currently regulated while 97% think it should be

• 83% think there should be one meaning for “natural” and 86% agree that there should be a symbol to certify a natural personal care product

• 65% think a product labeled “natural” must be at least 95% natural

• 71% wish there were more NPC products available in stores and 73% think stores do not do a good job educating consumers on NPC

Data from a survey of 502 women, ages 18-55, throughout the United States in April, 2007 – margin of error is ± 4.4% – paid for by Burt’s Bees

The Natural Seal

Standard Concepts

Natural:A product labeled “natural” should be made up of natural ingredients and be manufactured with appropriate processes to maintain ingredient purity

Safety: A product labeled “natural” should avoid any ingredient that research shows may have a suspected human health risk

The Natural Seal

Standard Concepts

Responsibility:A product labeled “natural” should use no animal testing in its development

Sustainability:A product labeled “natural” should use (bio)degradable, recyclable, and/or recycled ingredients and packaging

The Natural Seal

Criteria for certification• 95% natural ingredients

• Excluding water from calculations• Some synthetic ingredients allowed only when viable

natural alternatives are unavailable• Allowed synthetic ingredients are limited and

periodically reviewed to be removed

The Natural Seal

Criteria for certification• Allowed synthetics

• Preservatives • Quaternary ammonium compounds• Listed in the standard• Cumulative amount of allowed synthetics cannot

exceed 5.0% of the final formulation excluding water

The Natural Seal

Criteria for certification• 60% of the natural product line must

comply before any products are certified

• Full disclosure of ingredients on the label• Use of INCI nomenclature

The Natural Seal

Certification of ingredients• 100% natural• Listed on website

• Sort by company and function

• Discounted certification cost for products using NPA-certified ingredients

3rd Party Audited Certification

• NPA collects ingredient documentation• Current COA• Composition of each ingredient

• MSDS, data/tech sheet, composition statement• All inputs – reagents, processing aids, additives, preservatives

• NPA submits the packet to 3rd party auditor• Formulation & ingredient documentation• Auditor recommends for certification• NPA certifies product

Steering the Natural Standard

• NPA Natural Personal Care work group• Chartered to advise NPA staff on updating and revising

the Natural Standard while promoting the Natural Seal• Chair: Rebecca Hamilton (Badger Balm)• Jack Corley (Trilogy Fragrances)• Celeste Lutrario (Burt’s Bees)• Denise Petersen (BASF)• J.R. Rigley (J.R. Watkins Naturals)• Curt Valva (Aubrey Organics)• Bruce Worley (BTR Sales and Brand Management, LLC.)

Steering the Natural Standard

• Subgroups• Chartered to advise the work group and NPA• Technical

• Reviewing novel ingredients and processes for consideration as part of the NPA Natural Personal Care Standard that don’t fit the current published criteria

• Marketing & Outreach• Communicating the purpose, merits and benefits of the NPA

Natural Personal Care standard at industry venues as well as through print media and social media

Living Document

Development of the Standard• Now Prohibited – as of Sept 2010

• Synthetic fragrances (absolutes, concretes, use of petrochemical solvents)

• Reviewed Standard Lists• Illustrative List of Positive Ingredients• Illustrative List of Prohibited Ingredients• Allowed Processes• Allowed Synthetic List

Accomplishments of The Natural Seal

• Over 1000 certifications to date• Products and ingredients• Almost 800 currently certified

• Almost 70 companies

• Certified products in over 85,000 stores

• NPA has defined “natural” for the US consumer

NPA Natural Seal Program

Cara Welch, Ph.D.Vice President, Scientific & Regulatory Affairs

Natural Products Association

cwelch@npainfo.org

THANK YOU