COSlaw.eu is the information platform on the EU cosmetics law. Our goal is to collect all the relevant information in a single place to spread knowledge on the EU cosmetics regulatory framework.
Regulatory professionals and brands can check our website to learn more about the EU compliance process for cosmetic products. Moreover, our visitors are informed of regulatory changes in advance. We also aim to reach cosmetics users by providing them with a tool for informed purchasing.
We delve into several aspects of the EU cosmetics regulatory framework through:
- The Watch-out database, an overview of the newly restricted or banned ingredients and those that will be in the near future;
- The Library of Documents, our collection of public documents divided into several categories;
- The News section with posts on the latest regulatory updates;
- A selection of webinars, tutorials, and podcasts.
COSlaw.eu is a project powered by Obelis, one of the largest centres in Europe for regulatory consultancy, EU Responsible Person, and Authorised Representative services. Our clients are non-EU manufacturers that want to sell their products on the EU market. We help companies ensuring that their products meet the regulatory requirements, so they can smoothly enter the EU market.
Obelis acts as a professional Responsible Person and Authorised Representative in Europe since 1988 and is an ISO certified company – against ISO 13485:2016 & ISO 9001:2015 standards.
Founder’s/Owner’s story and what motivated them to start the business
COSlaw.eu was created in 2021, and it is the ‘younger brother’ of MDlaw.eu, a project born in 2017 as an informative tool on the new EU medical devices’ regulatory framework. Today, it is a reference point for the industry and stakeholders regarding EU laws on medical and in-vitro diagnostic devices. With Brexit and absence of Mutual Recognition Agreement with Switzerland, we extended our scope to the UK and CH legislation, again with the vision to address the needs of our members.
We know that sometimes EU product legislation is very complex, and we want to make it accessible to everyone. We strongly believe that knowledge is power: by sharing information, we increase the understanding of applicable legal requirements and consequently contribute to a safer market. This was our motivation behind creating a dedicated compliance tool for the cosmetics’ sector and assist manufacturers as well as consumers understand better the applicable laws.
Moreover, we are very proud to be surrounded by a Committee of experts that help us steer our Information Platform and offer them a podium for exchange of views on the current regulatory developments.
Seeing the added value, Obelis Information Platforms bring to our employees as well as our members, we will soon launch the third Platform that will address and offer insights on the compliance process of electronics, toys, machinery, general safety products, and others. All at 1 place!
The challenges the business/market is facing
A constantly changing field
The EU Cosmetics Regulation is being updated regularly. In 2022 only, more than 30 new substances were banned for use in cosmetic products! Our greatest challenge is to inform our clients and readers as soon as possible so that they can act promptly. Changes in the regulatory framework may require beauty brands to take expensive and time-consuming actions to keep selling their cosmetic products on the EU market. Thus, through clear and early communication, we try to make the process as smooth as possible so as not to jeopardise our clients’ businesses.
Obelis is co-founder of the European cosmetics Responsible Person Association (ERPA) and currently representative of ERPA in the European Commission – Cosmetic Products Working Group. There you are, the reason why we are able to inform our readers in advance! Moreover, there, we can assert our positions and advocate for changes we deem necessary.
Additionally, we recently lived a life-changing event, the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic, which forced us to change, from one day to the next, the way we work: from traditional office work to full teleworking from home. After two years, we are proud to say that our company has reacted excellently to the emergency. Now, we have included teleworking as a corporate benefit. At the same time, we work from the office some days a week to benefit from in-person interactions with colleagues. Obelis employees enjoy great flexibility: in this way, we ensure a better work-life balance.
In 2022, Obelis won the Trends Gazelles award for fastest growing medium-size enterprise as well Great Place To work Certificate!
The Covid-19 pandemic deeply impacted the cosmetic industry. According to the available data, almost all the segments of the cosmetic industry experienced a decline in growth due to several factors: the shutdown of physical stores for extended periods, the decrease in the use of fragrances and make-up as people were working from home, using masks, and maintaining social/physical distancing. In light of this, the cosmetic industry has faced a crisis.
The Covid-19 pandemic is not the only challenge that our business is facing. In 2020, the United Kingdom left the European Union and, therefore, EU laws became void in the UK. Obelis Group succeeded in establishing a UK-based branch, Obelis UK, through which we can help our clients comply with the new requirements to place cosmetic products on the UK market. At first, UK laws were very similar to EU regulations; however, as time passes, divergences are increasing, and we expect them to continue to grow in the coming years. One of our biggest challenges is ensuring that manufacturers understand all the implications of Brexit and fully comply with the new regulatory framework.
Those challenges make our daily work interesting, and we are ready to face many more.
The opportunities the business/market is facing
We should always bear in mind that from every challenge comes an opportunity. In our case, we were able to do a fast-forward jump into a different type of conducting business: home offices, intense growth and new services to satisfy the needs of our clients.
We feel enriched by the experience we lived because we can now keep the most functional parts of our transformation and integrate them, becoming the best possible version of Obelis.
Advice to others about business
There are many factors that we believe are key in any business: being an expert in what you do, being able to provide a wide range of services and, most importantly, understanding the great importance of the human capital: a healthy, happy team is almost always a guarantee for success. And this is something that we are committed to working on every day.
Gideon Elkayam, CEO Obelis
Ajda Mihelcic, COSlaw Content Manager
Francesca Santacatterina, COSlaw Content Contributor
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