Fighting Deforestation at European Level: The EUDR Regulation Applies to Cosmetic Ingredients and Packaging

While the sector-specific regulatory framework for cosmetic products is generally well known to industry stakeholders, it represents only part of the constraints that apply. Like any consumer product, a cosmetic product is also subject to horizontal regulations, including those related to the environment. At European level, these requirements are becoming increasingly stringent, as illustrated by the growing complexity of anti-deforestation legislation, whose scope is expanding to include resources used within the cosmetics value chain.

In 2023, the European Commission published Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 (known as the Deforestation Regulation or EUDR – European Union Deforestation Regulation), intended to replace Regulation (EU) No 995/2010 (the Timber Regulation). This new text aims to combat both domestic and imported deforestation:

• 90% of deforestation is driven by land conversion to agriculture for the production of livestock, soy, coffee and cocoa;
• 11% of greenhouse gas emissions come from deforestation;
• The EU accounts for 10% of global deforestation associated with the production of goods and services.

The regulation prohibits the placing on the EU market or the export from the EU of products that have contributed to deforestation or forest degradation after 30 December 2020. Economic operators must ensure that the products listed in the regulation comply with three key obligations:

• Zero deforestation: products must originate from land that has not been subject to deforestation after 31 December 2020 (cultivation plots existing prior to that date, with traceability via GPS coordinates), or, for wood, must have been harvested without causing forest degradation after the same date;
• Compliance with the legislation of the country of production (labour law, taxation, environmental regulations, etc.);
• Completion of due diligence prior to placing products on the market.

Initially scheduled for the end of December 2024, implementation has been postponed to 30 December 2025 for large companies and 30 June 2026 for small and micro-enterprises. Discussions are still ongoing regarding a potential second one-year postponement, due to the complexity of implementing this regulation, particularly with regard to controls carried out by competent authorities in EU Member States.

The anti-deforestation regulation specifies the relevant commodities and their derivatives* (listed in Annex I): cocoa, soy, oil palm, cattle, coffee, rubber and wood.

The cosmetics industry is directly impacted by the first three commodities and their derivatives:

• Cocoa: cocoa beans, cocoa waste, cocoa paste, cocoa butter, cocoa fat and oil, cocoa powder, chocolate;
• Soy: soybeans, soybean flour, soybean oil (even refined but not chemically modified), oilcake and other solid residues;
• Oil palm: palm nuts and kernels, crude palm oil, palm kernel oil and babassu oil (even refined but not chemically modified), oilcake and other solid residues, glycerol, palmitic acid, stearic acid, saturated acyclic monocarboxylic acids, oleic acid, industrial monocarboxylic fatty acids, acid oils from refining, industrial fatty alcohols.

* Products that contain these commodities, have been fed with them, or have been manufactured using them.

Wood must also be considered, particularly for packaging materials (wood, cardboard, paper). Whether packaging falls under the EUDR depends on its status (placed on the market as such or associated with the products it contains). Packaging that supports, protects or carries a product is therefore not subject to EUDR.

Palm oil deserves special attention, as some grades currently in use may not meet EUDR requirements. This is the case, for example, for the RSPO (Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil) “mass balance” grade, which does not meet traceability requirements. By contrast, “segregated” and “identity preserved” grades would be compliant.

The level of obligation varies depending on the role of stakeholders in relation to raw materials.

• The operator is responsible for placing products on the EU market or exporting them from the EU. All obligations apply to them: responsibility for compliance, due diligence and its declaration, maintenance of a declarations register, and transmission of information to traders. This includes, for example, a cosmetic ingredient manufacturer importing palm oil.
• The trader is responsible for making products available on the EU market. Obligations vary according to company size (with SMEs subject to fewer requirements), but the core obligation remains information collection. This typically applies to cosmetic ingredient distributors.
• Downstream actors, such as finished product manufacturers, are not subject to direct obligations under the regulation. However, they do have a duty to verify supplier compliance in order to secure ingredient supply. Indeed, operators or traders subject to national authority controls face the risk of product blocking or seizure in cases of non-compliance, which can jeopardize downstream supply chains. There is also a reputational risk, as final rulings against non-compliant actors will be published on the European Commission’s website (“name and shame”).

There may also be concerns regarding the availability of raw materials that already have compliant, traceable supply chains, potentially leading to increased demand. In anticipation of these new requirements, it is likely that alternatives to palm-oil-derived ingredients will increasingly emerge. This trend is already becoming a marketing argument for some ingredient suppliers.

At the same time, EUDR represents an opportunity to align cosmetic products more closely with consumer expectations around sustainability, and to strengthen brand reputation by communicating clear commitments in this area.

The implementation of the new anti-deforestation regulation, an ambitious European initiative, introduces significant new obligations, particularly for raw material and ingredient suppliers. It requires a profound transformation of supply chains and the involvement of all stakeholders across the value chain. Nevertheless, it also represents an opportunity to turn regulatory constraints into a competitive and reputational advantage. In the same spirit, upcoming regulations governing water use call for a proactive approach, enabling companies to transform compliance challenges into drivers of innovation.