Brands fail to meet organic cosmetic standards in Korea

Organic cosmetics have proved very successful in Korea, but now it appears that further growth could be undermined by the failure of manufacturers to comply with Korea’s organic standards.

According to a recent investigation by consumer body Consumers Korea, which looked at 50 supposedly organic cosmetic brands (24 local and 26 imported), 35 brands were found to have violated both the Cosmetics Act and the Advertising and Displaying Guidelines for Organic Cosmetics issued by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.

A total of 21 brands did not state the percentage of organic ingredients in their products. Meanwhile, 11 wrongly labelled products as organic even though their organic content was only about 10%, far below organic cosmetics certification standards of 95% organic content.

Cosmetics claiming to be organic can easily be distributed and sold in Korea because there is no inspection or follow-up system to verify manufacturer’s claims, said Consumers Korea. According to the organisation, the lack of detailed criteria for the products with organic material content less than 95% is a cause for misrepresentation and exaggerated advertising.

The Korea Consumer Agency, a government body, has asked the companies who failed to meet standards to take voluntary corrective action immediately.