ECOCERT COSMOS: The Four Signatures and What They Require from Your Skincare

ECOCERT COSMOS: The Four Signatures and What They Require from Your Skincare

Many skincare products call themselves "organic" or "natural" without having been reviewed by any external party. ECOCERT COSMOS certification is one of the few systems that actually requires it: a third-party body checks raw materials, formulations, manufacturing processes and packaging before a certificate is issued.

The certification isn't marketing copy that a brand puts together on its own. It's a rules-based system with prohibited ingredients, exact percentage requirements and traceable documentation. Nordic brands like SKINØ go through that process for every product in the range, which means that you as a customer can verify the certification independently via official databases — without having to take the brand's word for it.

In this article, we walk through how the COSMOS system is built, what the four signatures actually promise, which requirements apply to raw materials and production, and how to quickly check whether a certificate is genuine or just decorative.

Ecocert and COSMOS: Two Names, One System

The confusion around these two names is common, and it's understandable. They're often used in the same breath, but they play entirely different roles.

COSMOS is the standard — the framework that defines what natural and organic cosmetics may contain, how they must be manufactured and how they must be labelled. Ecocert is a certification body, one of the players authorised to audit products against that standard and issue certificates.

COSMOS-standard AISBL is the non-profit organisation that manages the framework. It was formed in collaboration by five major European certification bodies, including Ecocert, with the goal of creating a common European definition of natural and organic cosmetics. Before COSMOS existed, each certification body had its own, partly overlapping standards, which created a lack of clarity for both manufacturers and consumers.

Ecocert's role is to audit: they check formulations, raw materials, manufacturing processes and packaging, and then issue a certificate if everything is approved. An important detail to keep in mind: Ecocert also has its own older standards from the time before COSMOS, which sometimes creates confusion when you're reading a package. A product may be certified by Ecocert under the COSMOS standard, or under Ecocert's own older criteria. Always look for which framework is specified.

The Four COSMOS Signatures Explained

The COSMOS system has four distinct signatures, and it's important to understand that they don't all apply to finished products. Two of them are aimed at end products that consumers buy; two apply to raw materials and ingredients at the supplier level.

COSMOS Organic and COSMOS Natural for Finished Products

These two signatures are the ones you see on product packaging in stores.

COSMOS Organic is the strictest: the product meets all of the standard's requirements and additionally contains the minimum permitted share of organic ingredients required for the signature.

COSMOS Natural means that the product meets the COSMOS requirements but doesn't reach the organic minimum threshold required for Organic. In practice, a product can be COSMOS Natural without having any certified organic content at all, as long as the ingredients are of natural origin and meet the standard's other requirements. That's an important distinction when you're looking for the strictest option on the shelf.

COSMOS Certified and COSMOS Approved for Raw Materials

COSMOS Certified applies to raw materials with organic content that meet the standard's requirements. COSMOS Approved applies to non-organic raw materials that are nonetheless approved for use in COSMOS-certified products.

That's the distinction that explains why a product marked COSMOS Organic may still contain a small number of non-organic ingredients: they may be COSMOS Approved and therefore permitted in the composition, without breaching the certification.

Exact Requirements for Organic Raw Materials and Prohibited Ingredients

This is where the certification becomes concrete. COSMOS Organic works with two separate percentage measures at the same time, and it's important to understand both to be able to read an ingredient list correctly.

Percentage Requirements That Must Be Met

At least 95 percent of the plant-based ingredients must be organic, and at least 20 percent of the entire composition must consist of organic ingredients. For rinse-off products, such as cleansers and shampoos, a lower requirement of 10 percent of the entire composition applies, since these products naturally contain more water — and water doesn't count as an organic agricultural ingredient.

It can seem confusing in practice: a water-rich cream may have 98 percent organic plant-based raw materials, but if water makes up half of the composition, the total organic share lands lower. That's a technical reality in how the standard calculates, not a loophole.

Ingredients That Are Prohibited

The standard shuts out entire categories of ingredients that are common in conventional cosmetics. According to the COSMOS standard, the following are prohibited:

• GMOs
• Parabens
• Phenoxyethanol
• Nanoparticles (with limited exceptions for titanium dioxide and zinc oxide in sunscreens)
• Silicones
• PEGs
• Synthetic fragrance compounds
• Synthetic colourants
• Raw materials from slaughtered animals
• Ingredients from endangered species on the IUCN Red List

Note that certain animal products such as honey and milk may be permitted under the standard's detailed rules. The logic behind the prohibitions is coherent: COSMOS prioritises green chemistry, biodegradability and ingredients that don't burden either body or environment. Certain preservatives are strictly restricted and are only permitted in exceptional cases when effective natural alternatives are lacking.

From Raw Material to Packaging: The Entire Chain Is Reviewed

A common misconception is that certification is about ticking off the ingredient list. In reality, COSMOS reviews the entire production chain — from how the raw materials are grown and processed to how the finished product is labelled and packaged.

Requirements for the Manufacturing Process and Raw Material Production

COSMOS requires that raw materials are produced using sustainable methods, that manufacturing is built on green chemistry and that the processes don't introduce prohibited substances into the finished product. The certification body reviews the entire chain, not just the final composition.

That means a brand can't use approved raw materials that have been manufactured in a non-approved way. Manufacturing facilities, storage, packaging and labelling are all part of the review, which means that the certification in practice covers the product's entire lifecycle up to the consumer's hands.

Labelling and Packaging Requirements

Certified products must be marked with the correct signature — either COSMOS Organic or COSMOS Natural — together with the certification body's logo and an identifying reference. Packaging material is also reviewed: PVC and chlorinated plastics are prohibited, as are polystyrene and plastics containing styrene. These are requirements that place clear demands on manufacturers to think through the entire product package, not just the contents of the bottle.

SKINØ as a Concrete Example of ECOCERT COSMOS Certification in Practice

Abstract knowledge of the rules is one thing. It becomes clearer when you see how a brand actually translates the requirements into its products. Here you'll find the full SKINØ collection. From deeply hydrating serums and day creams to gentle cleansers — all products are ECOCERT-certified, 100% vegan and developed to suit Nordic skin in every climate.

Organic Aloe Vera as the Active Base, Not a Filler

Most skincare products use water as the primary base. Since water doesn't count as an organic agricultural ingredient, the water-rich model makes it harder to reach the COSMOS Organic percentage requirements. By using organic Aloe Vera as the active base, the base ingredient contributes directly to the organic share of the composition. It's not just a marketing choice — it's a formulation strategy that reflects the certification's logic all the way through.

Zero Tolerance for Hormone-Disrupting Substances and EU Compliance

SKINØ states that the brand's formulation philosophy involves zero tolerance for hormone-disrupting substances, which goes further than what COSMOS alone requires. Every product complies with the EU Cosmetics Regulation EC No 1223/2009 and is registered in the EU CPNP, which provides an extra layer of transparency and traceability on top of the COSMOS certification.

A combination of COSMOS certification and CPNP registration gives concrete opportunities to verify product safety independently of what the brand communicates — valuable for those who want to go beyond the text on the packaging.

How to Verify That a Certificate Is Genuine

Greenwashing is a real problem in the cosmetics industry, and the COSMOS logo is unfortunately not always genuine. Labels like "natural" or "organic" without a specified certification body and certificate number are not COSMOS-certified, no matter how convincing they look on the packaging.

Logos and Certificate Numbers on the Packaging

A genuine COSMOS signature contains three elements: the correct marking (COSMOS Organic or COSMOS Natural), the certification body's name or logo, and a certificate number or other identifying reference. If any of these elements are missing, the product is not correctly marked as COSMOS-certified. It's not enough to see the text "ECOCERT" on a package without these supporting details.

Official Databases for Online Checks

COSMOS has an official product database where consumers can search for and authenticate certified products. Ecocert has a separate certificate page for similar checks. Make it a routine: read off the signature on the package, check the certification body and the reference number, and search in the COSMOS product database if you want to be completely sure. That's the process that separates an informed purchase from one based on trust that may not have been earned.

The Certification Is Your Tool — Use It

COSMOS is the standard, Ecocert is the auditor, and the certification covers the entire chain from cultivation to labelling. COSMOS Organic is the strictest signature for finished products, with a requirement that at least 95 percent of the plant-based raw materials are organic and that at least 20 percent of the entire composition is of organic origin. Behind every certificate is a review that no brand can simulate with just text on a package.

Verification is always possible via the official COSMOS product database and Ecocert's certificate page — and that's exactly what you should do the next time you're holding a product in your hand. Look for COSMOS Organic or COSMOS Natural, check that the certification body is specified and feel free to confirm the certificate online. That's what ECOCERT COSMOS certification gives you as a consumer in Sweden: a system you can review yourself, independently of what appears in the marketing.