Australia: Export opportunities for Australian organic cosmetics

Australian Certified Organic (ACO), which licenses use of the prominent organic „Bud“ logo, has made a landmark, exclusive agreement with a well recognised Japanese organic cosmetic certification organisation, which will increase trade opportunities for Australian organic cosmetics. Akiko Nicholls, Managing Director of ACO, said the agreement with Japanese Organic Cosmetic Organization (JOCO), offers an advantage for ACO certified cosmetic companies to supply the Japanese market. “JOCO now recognises ACO certification through an equivalency program, so cosmetics which carry the ACO ‘Bud’ logo can now, in addition, carry the JOCO logo without additional assessment or certification opening up export opportunities in Japan,” she said. “This will make the export process much simpler and provides the opportunity for obtaining an additional price premium for many Australian companies.”
 
Because Japan currently has no government regulated standard for organic cosmetics, JOCO has established a standard that provides safe and secure guidelines for organic cosmetic products. All products that are in compliance with the JOCO standard are issued with the organisation’s seal of approval. Director of JOCO, Mr Izumi Yamazaki, said the company is dedicated to ensuring that the organic consumer is protected. “In Japan, government standards and regulations for organic cosmetic products are not yet established. This has resulted in confusion amongst Japanese consumers trying to define ‘true organic products’ amongst many products that claim ‘organic’ but do not follow the regulatory standards,” he said. “The most important point that differentiates the JOCO standard from other organic cosmetic standards used in Japan is that we established ours based on the government standard for organic food products – JAS (Japanese Agricultural Standard) for Organic Products.”
 
With a growing Japanese market for organic cosmetics, Akiko said the agreement would provide opportunities for continued and simplified trade with Japan for Australian organic cosmetics companies. “JOCO believes the ACO cosmetic standard is one of the most stringent standards in the world and it fully fulfils JOCO’s own stringent requirements and expectations – it is very exciting news and a great opportunity for ACO certified cosmetic operators.  No other certification body in the world has achieved an affiliation with JOCO,” she said.

BFA