The non-profit Environmental Working Group (EWG) is best known for its Skin Deep app and web-based consumer guide and database that allows people to search and compare the safety ratings of tens of thousands of beauty products and cosmetic ingredients, based on data pulled from a variety of regulatory and chemical databases. The database contains more than 70,000 products, more than 9,000 ingredients and is accessed by more than 8 million people per year. The company’s mission is “to empower [people with breakthrough research to make informed choices and live a healthy life in a healthy environment.”
The new EWG VERIFIED certification draws from the EWG’s work on Skin Deep and is already available to beauty brands. This is the first time EWG Verified and EWG Reviewed for Science will be available to cosmetic ingredient manufacturers.
“EWG is ready to make that happen. The goal of EWG VERIFIED Ingredients is to improve the market for clean personal care earlier in the product formulation process and deeper in the global cosmetics supply chain,” Cook said.
“Products will still have to meet the EWG VERIFIED standard to carry our mark, which applies to all of a product’s ingredients. But our VERIFIED mark will make clean ingredients easier to source and help drive innovation in key problem areas, like the need for safer options in cosmetics preservatives,” Cook added.
The company is also launching a program in the personal care industry that helps brands and formulators create cleaner products.
At the same time, EWG will open to all interested personal care companies the cosmetics science collaboration program the organization has pressure-tested for more than three years through contracts with a select group of leading firms in hair care, skin care, fine fragrance and other categories.
Through EWG Reviewed for Science™, private sector scientists and formulators work directly with EWG counterparts to improve product scores in Skin Deep or to develop product formulations that can meet the rigorous criteria to earn the EWG VERIFIED mark.
“The pilot phase of EWG Reviewed for Science made very clear that leading scientists, perfumers and formulators in the private sector are eager to have deeper, direct collaboration with EWG to keep abreast of our Skin Deep ratings system, or to expedite scientific review of products that can ultimately carry the EWG VERIFIED mark into the marketplace,” Cook said.
If you’d like to learn more about EWG Reviewed as a brand, email the programme at ewgreviewed@ewg.org and find out further information about EGW VERIFIED for cosmetic ingredient manufacturers here.
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