On 3 December at the Palace of Westminster, the CTPA chair Thierry Cheval and director-general Dr Emma Meredith gathered with various politicians to launch the CTPA’s Agenda for Government.
The set of proposals from the cosmetics, personal care and beauty sector are intended to help the industry grow sustainably over the next five years.
Dr Emma Meredith highlighted the fact that cosmetics are essential for everyday living, hygiene, self confidence and self-esteem.
“Cosmetic products such as sunscreen and toothpastes are also vital for public health, while soap and hand cleansers help reduce the spread of disease,” she stated.
“The sector is based on science and innovation, contains both multinational corporations and a huge number of SMEs, and is a major exporter.”
What is the CTPA asking the Government for?
Dr Meredith said the agenda covers five pillars: Essentiality, Regulation, Science, Sustainability and Business.
Based around this, the trade body has put forward the following asks on behalf of the industry.
A dedicated strategy for the sector
The CTPA is asking if the Government could work closely with it on a dedicated strategy for the sector, as an extension of the Government’s proposed Industrial Strategy.
“While the industry is not an initial priority sector in the Government’s Industrial Strategy, our industry should be considered as a sub-sector of the Life Sciences sector,” said the CTPA.
“We would propose that further sectors are given priority after the initial focus on the listed priority sectors, as the UK needs all sectors of the economy to be thriving to achieve the Government’s Growth Mission.”
Protect the framework of the UKCR
The CTPA is asking the Government to protect the UK Cosmetics Regulation (UKCR) in the Product Safety Review (PSR).
“A fundamental ask of the industry is that the framework of the UK Cosmetics Regulation (UKCR), a key safety law, is preserved and continues to be sector-specific, risk-based and regulates the safe use of cosmetic ingredients and finished cosmetic products placed on the UK market,” said Dr Meredith.
“CTPA is pleased to have received the views of DBT that it recognises the important role that sector-specific regulation, such as the Cosmetics Regulation, plays in both protecting consumers but also supporting businesses to trade on a global stage and have no plans to change this.”
The trade organisation noted that the British public agrees that cosmetics and personal care products are safe and supports the UK having strict safety laws in place.
It referred to research undertaken by Opinium on behalf of the CTPA that showed that 77% of UK adults considered cosmetics and personal care products to be safe, while87% think it is important that the UK has strict safety laws for cosmetics and personal care products placed on the UK market.
Follow a science-led, risk-based approach
CTPA has asked that decisions on the safe use of cosmetic ingredients and finished cosmetics and personal care products continue to follow a robust science-led and risk-based approach.
“We require a long-term commitment to transparent, risk-based and independent scientific advice to inform the regulation of cosmetics under the UK Cosmetics Regulation,” said Dr Meredith.
Reduce barriers to trade
The CTPA asked the new Government to move fast to strengthen relations, reduce barriers to trade and increase regulatory cooperation with the EU.
Almost three in four UK adults (73%) support the UK Government working closely with the EU in the next few years on cosmetics and chemical safety issues, the survey found.
It also found that 70% of UK adults wanted the government to work more closely with the EU in the future to increase business, investment and trade.
Strong regulatory co-operation with EU
The agenda asked that the new Government ensures UK REACH is delivered in a way that reduces costs and bureaucracy for all companies of all sizes as much as possible, ensures strong regulatory cooperation with the EU, including data sharing if possible, and continues to protect consumers and the environment.
Commitment to animal-free testing
CTPA asks that the new Government publishes a strategy that establishes a commitment to integrate the use of animal-free methods into the safety assessment of chemicals, as was committed to by the previous Government.
“This will promote the use and regulatory acceptance of these methods in the UK, building on the long-established UK and EU bans on animal testing for cosmetic products and ingredients, helping the UK to become a world leader in animal-free scientific methods,” said Dr Meredith.
The Opinium survey for CTPA showed that almost three in four UK adults (73%) supported a strategy to reduce the use of animal testing in areas such as chemicals legislation and promote the use of other types of scientific testing to ensure safety that does not involve the use of animals. Meanwhile, 77% supported the UK taking a leading international role in finding new approaches to safety testing that do not involve animals
Working together on the EPR
On sustainability and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), the CTPA said the industry would like to work with the Government on the design and delivery of EPR to ensure it achieves its environmental objectives.
“CTPA supports the Government’s proposal that companies who communicate with take-back schemes that meet all of the Government’s requirements and urge consumers to use them should be able to benefit from lower EPR fees for packaging suitable for take-back,” said Dr Meredith.
“If and when in the future any new labelling rules may be introduced, these companies should be able to label these products with ‘Recycle at Collection Points’.”