46 JOURNAL OF COSMETIC SCIENCE
Legislation concerning urban water pollution in Europe targeting the cosmetic and
pharmaceutical product manufacturing industries, with the aim of reducing “micro-
pollutants”– has been approved (Directive (EU) 2024/3019 concerning urban wastewater
treatment (recast)) (UWWTD) but does not seem to target fragrance raw materials.
A very specific piece of legislation that concerns water pollution and the fragrance industry
is the restriction on polymer microparticles, or microplastics, which entered into force
in October 2023 ((EU) 2023/2055). This legislation is potentially relevant to polymeric
opacifiers and the polymer walls of fragrance capsules, for example those based on melamine-
formaldehyde chemistry, widely used in fabric softeners and more occasionally in cosmetics.
The application of the ban for synthetic polymer microparticles for use in the encapsulation
of fragrances will be October 2029. To avoid the ban, the microparticles should be either
natural, biodegrade under certain conditions, or be below 100ppm in the final product.
Products containing fragrance capsules that comply with this legislation have started to
appear in commercial laundry products in Europe claiming “microplastic free”.
Finally one set of pollutants attracting much recent attention is the per- and polyfluoroalkyl
substances (PFAS or PFASs), a group of synthetic organo-fluorine chemical compounds that
have multiple fluorine atoms attached to an alkyl chain. Certain PFAS have been under the
regulatory spotlight for some years. Often termed “forever chemicals” they are extremely
resistant to degradation in the natural environment, due to the carbon-fluorine bond which
is one of the strongest bonds known in nature. PFAS have also been linked to severe
health problems, including cancer, hormone disruption, and developmental harm. Due to
widespread use, including in cosmetics, trace levels of PFAS are widely distributed in the
environment [41]. A recent publication concluded that personal care product use may be a
modifiable source of PFAS exposure in pregnant and lactating populations [42].
In the U.S., the 2021 “No PFAS in Cosmetics Act” was proposed in Congress (Bill S.2047)
with the aim to ban the intentional addition of PFAS in cosmetics. The 2022 Modernization
of Cosmetics Regulation Act expanded the FDA’s authority to regulate cosmetics, including
the reporting requirements for cosmetic ingredients like PFAS. The FDA must publish on
its website a report summarizing the results of the safety assessment from the use of PFAS
in cosmetic products no later than December 29, 2025.
Whilst there is no U.S. national mandate, multiple US states ban the intentional use of
PFAS in cosmetics. California, with the PFAS-Free Beauty Act of 2022 (AB 2771), was the
first state to establish such a law. The ban applies to cosmetics sold in the state starting
from January 2025. Colorado, Maryland, Minnesota, and Washington have also introduced
bans on the sale of cosmetic products containing PFAS from January 2025 and numerous
other states are taking similar measures.
In the EU, some PFAS are already regulated concerning usage in cosmetics (EU 2024/2462
-undecafluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA), salts, related substances) whilst other groups are
being proposed for restrictions. The 2023 EU proposal – ECHA Annex XV Restriction
Report, Proposal for a restriction: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), will
generally prohibit the manufacture, use, or placing on the market of PFAS on their own,
in a mixture or an article, in a concentration at or above 25 parts per billion (ppb) for
any individual PFAS, 250 ppb for the sum of PFAS, or 50 ppm for PFAS with polymeric
PFAS included. The European Commission’s decision could be made public in 2025, which
would suggest an effective date of 2026/2027, with the possibly of temporary derogations
for certain sectors.

47 Sustainable Fragrances
In early 2024, there have been EU initiatives at the state level to introduce legislation to
limit PFAS that could enter into force before the proposal under REACH. In February
2025, LOI No. 2025-188 was passed into French Law, and will prohibit the manufacture,
import, export and placing on the market of any cosmetic product containing PFAS from
January 2026. The text does acknowledge a minimum concentration needs to be defined
for trace contamination below which the law would not apply.
Whilst PFAS are not intentionally used in the fragrance industry as ingredients one can
imagine that trace levels of PFAS could eventually be found in fragrance oil from, for
example, manufacturing steps where materials come into contact with Teflon O-rings or
other trace contamination. As legislators shift from “intentionally added” to restrictions at
ppb level in the EU, or in the US to PQL, the risks of being over a limit increases. Zero
doesn’t exist, and each year the threshold of detection lowers.
HUMAN ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS
In some ways, this is one of the most difficult yet important issues for the industry.
Amongst the possible ethical considerations like cultural and gender diversity, religious
freedom, the two topics that have emerged as most sensitive are labour practices and fair or
living wage, often termed modern slavery. The subject is difficult because these aspects are
rarely if ever disclosed by suppliers and need to be identified by whistle blowers or on-site
audits. The point of focus of companies and civil society also evolves over time, influenced
by legislation, social media and political events.
Unacceptable labour practices can take the form of using child labour, migrant labour, prison
labour, or taking advantage of disadvantaged communities. Many companies refer to the
Dhaka Principles for Migrant Workers [43] as guidelines to be followed for the employment
of migrant workers, including the Employer Pays Principle related to fees for employment.
The subject of fair or living wage, now included in CSDDD, is a complex issue. The
Anker Institute [44] and the Global Living Wage Coalition [45] are considered amongst
the best methodology and data sources, especially for commodities and more urban areas,
however these cannot always be readily extrapolated to smaller volume naturals used by the
fragrance industry, often in rural areas. Other difficulties faced are access to primary data
and translation to seasonal, part-time work, often paid by volume not time. The Anker
methodology also needs to be adapted to be applicable for Europe. Another source of living
wage estimates is Wageindicator [46] and IDH, a Dutch NGO, has developed a process
to recognise robust living wage benchmark methodologies available in the market and
provides a tool to helps companies find credible living wage benchmarks [47].
A default position on wages adopted by many is to consider the minimum national wage,
where in general there is an official government figure [48, 49].
Many ethical issues are primarily country issues rather than specific crop issues so traceability
of natural raw materials or renewable feedstocks to at least the country of origin is essential
and transparency along the supply chain has improved significantly over recent years.
Publicly available information concerning labour risks, concerned countries or regions and
concerned goods is available from UNICEF [50], the Internation Labor Organisation (ILO)
[51] and the Bureau of International Labor Affairs of the US Department of Labor [52]. A
number of companies such as Sedex and Maplecroft provide commercial risk indices, often