Commission Decision (EU) 2023/1540 of 25 July 2023 amending and correcting Decision (EU) 2021/1870 establishing EU Ecolabel criteria for cosmetic products and animal care products (notified under document C(2023) 4845) (Text with EEA relevance)

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 66/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2009 on the EU Ecolabel⁽¹⁾, and in particular Article 8(2) thereof,

After consulting the European Union Ecolabelling Board,

Whereas:

1. Commission Decision (EU) 2021/1870⁽²⁾ established EU Ecolabel criteria and related assessment and verifications requirements for the product groups ‘cosmetic products’ and ‘animal care products’.

2. Industry stakeholders and members of the EU Ecolabelling Board have indicated that some provisions of Decision (EU) 2021/1870 could be interpreted in different ways, which could lead to inconsistencies in the practical implementation of that Decision. To avoid such inconsistent application, and to ensure legal clarity and legal certainty, it is necessary to provide for clearer wording in those provisions.

3. The definition of ‘active content’ in the framework section of Annexes I and II to Decision (EU) 2021/1870 contains a mistake that should be corrected to clarify that it is organic rubbing/abrasive agents that are not to be included in the calculation of the active content of the cosmetic product or of the animal care products. Inorganic substances, including inorganic rubbing/abrasive agents, are in fact excluded by definition.

4. To ensure the correct application of sub-criterion 4(a)(iii) in Annex I to Decision (EU) 2021/1870- i.e. exemption of zinc compounds, classified as H410 according to Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council⁽³⁾, in zinc ointment/cream- sub-criterion 4(a)(i) should be corrected to specify that substances that are exempted in sub-criterion 4(a)(iii) do not have to comply with the requirements set out in sub-criterion 4(a)(i).

5. In order to ensure the correct application of sub-criterion 4(b) in Annex I and of sub-criterion 3(b) in Annex II to Decision (EU) 2021/1870, those sub-criteria should be corrected to specify that substances listed in the sub-criteria can be present in the final product if occurring in the form of impurities. That is needed to make the requirements consistent with the information reported in Table 1 in Annex I to Decision (EU) 2021/1870 and in Table 1 in Annex II to that Decision as regards those sub-criteria.

6. In order to ensure the correct application of sub-criterion 4(c) in Annex I and of sub-criterion 3(c) in Annex II to Decision (EU) 2021/1870, footnote 12 in Annex I and footnote 10 in Annex II should be corrected to spell out the correct link that applicants of the EU Ecolabel should use.

7. In order to clarify the interpretation of the introductory sentence of criterion 5 in Annex I and of criterion 4 in Annex II to Decision (EU) 2021/1870, that introductory sentence should be corrected to spell out that only liquid products need to comply with the requirement on the minimum volume of packaging allowed, as the unit in that sentence already suggests.

8. In order to ensure the correct application of sub-criterion 5(d) in Annex I and of sub-criterion 4(d) in Annex II to Decision (EU) 2021/1870, in line with the state-of-the-art of recycling technologies⁽⁴⁾ and with the discussions held with stakeholders during the EU Ecolabel criteria revision process⁽⁵⁾, Table 8 in Annex I and Table 7 in Annex II should be amended to specify that polypropylene (PP) labels and polyolefins sleeves used in a PP packaging and polyethylene (PE) labels and PE sleeves used in a high-density polyethylene packaging are allowed in EU Ecolabel products.

9. In order to ensure the correct verification of criterion 3 in Annex II to Decision (EU) 2021/1870, the assessment and verification section of that criterion should be corrected to ensure that applicants to the EU Ecolabel submit the Safety Data Sheet (SDS) of the final product, in addition to the SDSs of any substance and mixture in the final product, to prove the compliance with that criterion.

10. Decision (EU) 2021/1870 should therefore be amended and corrected accordingly.The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee established by Article 16 of Regulation (EC) No 66/2010.

11. For reasons of legal certainty, a clear date of application of this Decision should be specified,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: