GREEN PETCARE CHARTER

The origins of the association

The GREEN PETCARE association originates from an observation; today, no special rules exist in France or in Europe for organic care and grooming products for animals.

The GREEN PETCARE association was thus created to fill this need in order to guarantee consumers and their pets quality organic cosmetic products which are manufactured in accordance with the strictest hygiene and safety standards.

General requirements :

Members, as well as their suppliers and/or subcontractors must commit to respecting the current regulatory standards in application for human cosmetics in order to guarantee a high level of product safety. The main points are listed below:

To not be harmful to human health, when applied under normal conditions
To use only substances authorised for human cosmetics
To forbid testing on animals in order to prove a product is harmless
To forbid the use of CMR substances (carcinogens, mutagens, toxic for reproduction)
Labelling : ingredients, allergens, PAO or best before date, precautions of use�
Manufactured and packaged according to Cosmetic Manufacturing Best Practices
Establishment of a cosmetic file, to guarantee a high level of product safety (cf.4)

Specific requirements :

Formulas

To not be harmful to animal health : the product formulas are created or validated under veterinary or pharmaceutical supervision in order to guarantee their harmlessness for the targeted species.
Consumer tests can be carried out to check the effectiveness and the claims of a formula but never to prove its harmlessness (cf. general requirements)
No GMO raw materials
No artificial colourings
No synthetic fragrances
No petrochemical products
Use of raw materials of animal origin forbidden, except those from live animals
Use of substances with a low allergic reactivity as much as possible.
95% of the ingredients used are of natural origin, including at least 10% organic
Packaging
The packaging must be recyclable
It must be developed in accordance with eco-development principles.
Production
Obtaining raw materials and processing them into pet care and grooming products can be done only by using the following techniques :
Mechanical techniques: grinding, drying, centrifuging, filtering�
Chemical techniques, if necessary: distilling, cooking, condensing, alkylation, saponification, hydration, fermentation, alcoholic or hydro-alcoholic extraction, esterification, hydrogenation, hydrolysis, quaternization et sulphation�
Techniques of pure synthesis, for preservatives only.
Quality & Safety

Irradiation, ionisation, or procedures using mercury and ethylene oxide are forbidden

Production and packaging sites respect the Cosmetic Manufacturing Best Practices (ISO 22716 standard) in order to guarantee the consumer a safe product which corresponds to the defined characteristics.

These guidelines represent the minimum criteria to be respected. They focus in particular on respecting hygiene criteria and product safety and will serve as a support for the audit of manufacturers and/or subcontractors.

The Green Petcare charter encourages the use of the HACCP method to obtain this high level of safety.

For each product, specifications as well as a cosmetic file will be put in place containing the following elements:

Qualitative and quantitative formula
Use and directions of use of product
Technical specifications of raw materials
Physico-chemical and microbiological specifications of finished product
Justification of claims (bibliography or test panels)
Evaluation of preservative system
Stability test
Product/packaging compatibility
Evaluation of skin tolerance
Safety assessment (safety certificate) drawn up by the responsible veterinarian or pharmacist
Establishment of a cosmeto-vigilance system, which will allow the surveillance of adverse drug reactions resulting from the use of the products.
Environment

In addition to production and formulation requirements which guarantee a maximal biodegradability and recycling of the packaging :

The factory and production tools must be cleaned with as little impact as possible on the environment by avoiding the use of harmful detergents.
Members and their subcontractors are encouraged, when they have the possibility, to sort and recycle their waste.
Members and their subcontractors must do everything possible to reduce their energy consumption.
Members and their subcontractors must manage their effluents in order to protect the environment around the production site.
Sustainable Development

The environmental aspects of sustainable development have been developed above.

The members commit to respecting fair trade principles, as needed.
The production site and its equipment are conceived and fitted in order to improve the comfort of the employees.

GLOSSARY :

Organic ingredients: Unprocessed products originating from organic agriculture, therefore respectful of the environment. Only physical processing is allowed (extraction, filtration and purification, mixing, cold pressing, etc.). The ingredients originate from vegetable production (plant extracts, plant oils, essential oils, etc.) or animal production (wax, honey, etc.)
Natural ingredients : Unprocessed products which originate directly from agricultural production, harvesting, or mining. Only physical processing is allowed (extraction, filtration and purification, mixing, cold pressing, etc.). The ingredients are vegetable (plant extracts), mineral (water, pigments, clay, etc.), marine (algae) or of animal production.
Ingredients of natural origin: Products resulting from biotechnology or processed in accordance with authorised chemical techniques (hydration, fermentation�) Can be vegetable, from animal production, or mineral (fatty alcohols, fatty acids or hydrogenated vegetable oil).
Synthetic ingredients : Synthetic ingredients are not of natural origin but can be the identical reproduction of a natural product.

To summarize : difference between an organic product and a conventional cosmetic product

Most conventional cosmetic products are manufactured using synthetic ingredients, or, sometimes, ingredients of animal origin. In addition to the possible harmful effects on humans, the different techniques used to manufacture cosmetics made with petrochemicals are extremely harmful for the environment.

To the contrary, organic cosmetics are made with more natural products. The fats which make up the excipients (a product�s main ingredient after water) for organic cosmetics are of vegetable origin: oils or fats (jojoba, argan, shea, olive, apricot�)

The active ingredients � which guarantee the effectiveness of a cosmetic product- are truly present in an organic cosmetic : up to 35% compared to 1% in a traditional cosmetic : oily extracts, hydro alcoholics, plants, herbal distillates, essential oils�
Surfactant emulsifiers : derivatives of sugars and vegetable raw materials.
Additives : natural preservatives (citric acid, benzoic acid), natural stabilizers (sugar and cereal derivatives), natural moisteners.
Other additives : natural colouring and, for fragrances, organic essential oils (lemon, rose, geranium, etc.).