European Natural Cosmetics Certification – FI-Natura

Certified Natural Cosmetics

Certified natural cosmetics are cosmetics which primarily contain ingredients of natural origin, processed to the minimum. In addition, natural cosmetics are expected to be ecological and ethical through the whole lifecycle of the product from the harvesting of the ingredients to the logistics and use.

Unfortunately, there is no separate definition of natural cosmetics in cosmetics legislation. As a result, there is a lot of green washing in the sector. Green washing is an unfortunate and unethical phenomenon that manifests itself in the marketing of synthetic and non-organic products so as to give the consumer an image of a natural product. 

In order to protect against greenwashing, natural cosmetics certificates have been created for the industry, the common goal of which is to create uniform and clear criteria for natural cosmetics. The certificate helps the consumer to distinguish a truly natural product from green-washed products. 

Genuine natural cosmetics can be identified from certificates – such as Ecocert, Madesafe, Certclean and FI-Natura – which independent parties grant to products that fulfill certain criteria after an extensive evaluation process. The certificate tells the consumer that the ingredients, production methods and packaging of the product are ecological and ethical. Certified natural cosmetics haven’t been tested on animals.

All Circulove products are 100% natural, clean and vegan. Over 85% of the ingredients are locally sourced, and 70%- 93% are of wildcrafted or organic origin. All the packaging, including product bottles and shipment mailers, is made of upcycled or recycled materials. And naturally, all Circulove products are FI-Natura certified. Furthermore, our production lab is also Ecocert®, Madesafe®, and CertClean® certified.

European Natural Cosmetics Certification – FI-Natura

FI-Natura is a Finnish non-profit association founded in 2014 and a respected European natural cosmetics certificate that certifies Finnish natural cosmetics. The FI-Natura certificate is a guarantee for the consumer of authentic Finnish natural cosmetics, and allows it to be distinguished from green-washed cosmetic products. 

After the approved initial inspection of the vendor’s products, a thorough FI-Natura audit is performed. The audit is carried out in cooperation with independent audit bodies to guarantee a detached assessment. This careful inspection process monitors and guarantees that the raw materials and products contained in the certified products truly meet all the rigorous criteria for natural cosmetics defined by FI-Natura.

Natural cosmetics are cosmetics whose raw materials come from nature. Almost all synthetic raw materials are banned, and raw materials collected from nature or organically grown are preferred. The packaging of the products is recyclable and the use of animal experiments is strictly prohibited.

Here’s FI-Natura’s certification criteria in brief:

• The content of raw materials of natural or natural origin in the product must be at least 95%, the rest max. 5% restricted substances, specified substances
• Plant raw materials should favor wild or organically grown plants collected from a clean area
• Local production of raw materials is recommended
• Raw materials should be processed by the most gentle processes possible
• FI-Natura allows the use of certain synthetic raw materials to a limited extent (max. 5%) when it is not ecologically viable or possible to isolate the raw material from a natural source. Permitted synthetic raw materials are e.g. benzoic acid and its salts, sorbic acid and its salts and benzyl alcohol.
• Prohibited raw materials include:
  • Petrochemical products
  • Ethoxylated compounds
  • Chemical sunscreens
  • Synthetic fragrances and dyes
  • Silicone compounds
  • Most synthetic preservatives such as parabens, isothiazolinols, formaldehyde scavengers, phenoxyethanol, triclosan
  • Raw materials of animal origin, with the exception of, for example, beeswax, honey, milk and lanolin
  • Genetically engineered raw materials
• Products should use as environmentally friendly, recyclable packaging materials as possible. Prohibited packaging materials include e.g. PVC and polystyrene (PS).
• Animal testing of products and their raw materials is strictly prohibited