How to Label Your Product - Cosmetic RegulationUpdated 4 months ago

You have worked hard on making your products, and now you may be thinking it is time to start a business.  Before you make your first sale, make sure that your products are properly labeled!  The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic (FD&C) Act and the Fair Packaging and Labeling (FP&L) Act are the authorities for these regulations and laws.

While laws and regulations can appear cumbersome and unnecessary, we have them for an important reason: to protect consumers.  The FDCA protects consumers from unsafe or deceptively labeled or packaged products sold in the United States, while the FPLA ensures that packages and their labels provide consumers with accurate information about the quantity of contents and facilitate value comparisons. 
The Fair Packaging and Labeling Act (FPLA) is the basis for labeling requirements for nearly all consumer commodities (things that are consumed or expended in the household). Its purpose is to “facilitate value comparisons and to prevent unfair or deceptive packaging and labeling.” From the FPLA, the Food and Drug Administration issued regulations covering the labeling of foods, drugs and cosmetics and the Federal Trade Commission issued regulations covering other consumer commodities.

The FDA goes on to make the following clarifications (21 CFR 701.12)

• The name and business address appearing on the label may be those of the manufacturer, packer or distributor. 
•  The name of the firm must be the corporate name, and the address may be that of the principal place of business. Stating also the name of a corporation's particular division is optional.
•  The business address must include the street address, name of the city and state, and the ZIP code. The street address may be omitted if the firm is listed in a current city or telephone directory.
•  If the name and address is not that of the manufacturer, the name must be preceded by phrases such as "Manufactured for ...", "Distributed by ...", or other appropriate wording.
•  The Tariff Act of 1930 requires that imported products state on the label the English Name of the country of origin.

It is fun to go to retail stores and see how the big companies include these eight components on their labels.  Sometimes it even helps give the mind some creative inspiration for the handmade industry!

Note: A cosmetic label is considered mis-branded if the label is false or misleading, does not contain the name/address of the manufacturer, packer, or distributor, and contains inaccurate net quantity of contents. The label is also considered mis-branded if all of the required information is not stated prominently, with conspicuousness, and in terms that it is read and understood by consumers under customary conditions of purchase and use or if the container or its fill is misleading. These rules apply to both full size and sample products.

Ingredient Declaration on Cosmetic Labels

Cosmetics are defined as products that are “applied to the human body for cleansing, beautifying, promoting attractiveness or altering the appearance.” Cosmetics include lotions, creams, bath melts, bubble bath, scrubs, cream soap, bath fizzies, lotion bars, perfume, lip products, body butters, lotion candles, etc. Note that candles and room scent products, which are not applied to the body, are not considered cosmetics. Soap is a cosmetic if cosmetic claims are made (other than cleansing) OR if it isn’t made primarily of fats/oils, lye and water (e.g. it contains detergents).

• Ingredient Declaration: Cosmetic products require that the ingredients are declared on the package (not on the front, but on some other surface of the package). The ingredients should be in “descending order of predominance,” which means that the highest percentage ingredient goes first, then the second highest, etc. Ingredients that are in the product at less than 1% can be listed in any order after all the other ingredients that are 1% or more.

Listing Color Additives
The Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act requires that you properly list color additives on an ingredient label.  To be in compliance it is important to check with your supplier and obtain the full color ingredient listing.  This is because it is common for colors to have common terms such as “mica” when in reality the full listing is much longer such as:  Mica, Iron Oxide.  Colors can be listed at the end of the ingredient area of the label.
 

 

Regardless of what the product is, the following information is required on every label:

On the FRONT of the package (where the consumer would see it when viewing the product on a shelf or in a display):

• Identity: A statement identifying what the product is (e.g. soap, lotion, cream, candle, potpourri, bath fizzie, etc.).

• Net Quantity of Contents: The amount of actual product in the package (without the weight of the package or container). It must be in both the inch/pound system (ounces, pounds) and metric system (grams, liters). For fluid products it must be in terms of volume (fluid ounces, quarts, milliliters, liters) and for solid products it must be in terms of weight (ounces, pounds, grams, kilograms). It must be parallel to the bottom of the product, in the bottom 1/3 of the front and in bold text. For most soap or body care products, the text size must be 1/8” high (based on the size of a lower case letter).

On the BACK, SIDE or BOTTOM of the package:

•  Name and Place of Business: The legal name of the business (as registered with your state or your personal name, if no business name is registered) and the street address (actual street address, not a PO Box), city, state and zip code. The name and place of business can be that of the manufacturer, distributor or packager. The street address may be omitted if the business name is listed in a print phone book or city directory.