Green in the face of cosmetics regulations 🤢

"Testing of cosmetic final products on animals was banned in 2004 and since 2013 there has been a total ban on selling cosmetics where the final product or ingredients have been tested on animals (with certain exceptions). This would therefore be a negative claim."

For me this is completely unbelievable 🤷🏼‍♀️ firstly, there are certain exceptions that are allowed to test on animals!! Secondly: does the average consumer actually know that there is a total ban (with certain exceptions, OMG) on testing cosmetics on animals in Norway? And what about the exceptions? Do they really have to notice that they are testing on animals? And do we have full control over everything that is imported from the other side of the world, and that does not have to follow the Norwegian regulations (yes, actually, that is how it is).

Vossabia was established on a bedrock and solid foundation of holistic health thinking, where I wanted and still want just as strongly, to promote good health, promote ecology and a strong and healthy cycle, less shit in the wastewater that flows into nature after showering and peeing and pooping, and not least: increase awareness of all the wonderful things nature has to offer in terms of nutritious, gentle and super-nourishing properties, which means that we can mostly find what we need in nature for good skin health! 💚🌼🐝👩‍🌾

Here on the farm, of course, everything is 100% natural, and I developed the recipes nearly 20 years ago with holistic and long-term preventive health in mind, by using only carefully selected herbs with a wealth of good properties 💚 And I have been keen to write the ingredients in NORWEGIAN, so that the consumer can easily see and not least understand what is in the product . I have known that this is not entirely legal, but I have not cared. BECAUSE it has been more important to spread knowledge and information to people.

🚫🤢 But, now I've been caught up and ordered to change all labels!!

Many may have noticed that some of the Vossabia products have now had their ingredient lists changed on labels and product pages. The labels no longer have a Norwegian and understandable ingredient list, but a so-called INCI list. There are scientific, difficult and mostly incomprehensible names for the ingredients, plus it looks like there are more ingredients than there are, because chemists have to break down an ingredient into maybe 5-6 names to satisfy the cosmetics regulations in Norway and the EU. A practical consequence is that where it used to stand for e.g. organic lavender oil , it now stands for Lavandula Angustifolia Flower Oil, Linalool, Geraniol, Limonene . So now it looks like lavender oil is 4 different ingredients, but then it is only natural components in essential oil that must be marked as well. It really makes me sad 🤷🏼‍♀️ because several customers have already reacted and written that there is something wrong here, what am I trying to hide in the Norwegian ingredients list (which I am only allowed to have separated from the INCI list on the product page). Some have thought that I have added synthetic linalool and limonene for example, when it is possible to get synthetic versions of it. But, these are just natural components in lavender, among other things… oh how frustrated I get. With that, the Norwegian Food Safety Authority has forced me to make the content more incomprehensible, which is the opposite of what has driven Vossabia for almost 20 years: high-quality natural products with easily understandable ingredients written in Norwegian, which consumers can quickly understand and orient themselves in.

(Sunscreen label before change due to regulations)

(Sunscreen label after change due to regulations)

🚫🤢The most absurd thing about this regulation is the argument for it, as the Norwegian Food Safety Authority explains it to me: It is a requirement with an INCI list of ingredients (in this “nonsense” for ordinary people) BECAUSE IT SHOULD ENSURE CONSUMERS ARE BETTER ABLE TO MAKE INFORMED CHOICES!

Huh??? To me, it seems like perfect protection for the cosmetics industry that uses ingredients that they are perhaps very happy that people do not understand what they are. In addition, many of the synthetic ingredients do not have common names anyway. So please, apply the criterion of truthfulness and honesty: make it clear that all this is not for the good of the consumer, but for the good of the industry. It seems more truthful and honest to say that. than to claim that this is so that you back home will now understand better what is contained in my and other small companies' natural products. 😳

In 2023, the Norwegian Food Safety Authority has been given a central task to control and inspect all cosmetics manufacturers, distributors and importers with an emphasis on label marking, website marking, claims, product safety reports and much more. As I said, it is all well and good, and in its place to check and supervise, BUT not when it does not make sense and the result is the opposite of what they claim is the goal. 🎯

It is also not good when there are only an extremely few companies that actually receive supervision and are checked, and like Vossabia now, have had to change all labels and content lists on the website to satisfy these requirements. The whole thing costs 5-6-figure sums and can break small businesses that are operating with the intention of actually allowing consumers to make informed, healthy, ethical, health and environmental choices in a proper way. 💚