The ISO 16128 standard was created in 2017. It comes from the reflection of 28 countries , and is based on very good intentions.

The two-part ISO 16128 standard is an internationally coordinated technical guideline aimed at framing practices for cosmetics players within the industry. 

This standard enables companies to agree on the definition of ‘natural’, and describes “approaches to calculate natural, natural origin, organic and organic origin indexes that apply to the ingredient categories”.

• Natural ingredient:
       They come from nature including plant, mineral or animal environments. In cosmetics, a natural ingredient is an ingredient that is extracted by traditional mechanical actions, and that isn’t chemically transformed. For example, the aloe vera plant extract is a natural ingredient.

• Natural origin ingredients:
       They are natural ingredients, including derived natural ingredients. They are chemically and/or biologically processed. To be qualified as nature-orientated cosmetics, the ingredient end proportion must be greater than 50% natural  – e.g. glycerine most often.

• Organic ingredients:
       These are natural ingredients grown from organic farming methods or wild harvests, in compliance with national legislation or  international standards in force – e.g. vegetable oil.

• Organic origin ingredients:
       They are natural and/or organic ingredients processed chemically and/or biologically (with no fossil fragments).
       For example, organic jojoba ester is an organic-origin ingredient as well as a 100% natural ingredient.