The association

Cosmebio - a history of 16 years as a mark of trust for consumers

Cosmebio was founded as an association in 2002, at a time when consumers were becoming increasingly aware of the dirty underside of the chemical industry. Back then there were no regulations governing natural and organic cosmetics. So brands were free to make claims that their products contained a high level of plant-based ingredients. When very often in reality, plant extracts made up less than 1% of the total product. The marketing was much greener than the actual product.

The founders of Cosmebio felt the fervent need to address this issue and protect consumers from such corrupt practices. To fight back against the famous 'greenwashing' we hear so much about.

So around 10 laboratories joined forces to draw up a set of specifications for natural and organic cosmetics. These criteria were meant to provide a reliable yardstick for making the right consumer choice in the maze of different marketing claims.

The Cosmebio Charter was the first of many fruits born from this working group. Soon to follow came the specifications, which were inspected by Ecocert, because French legislation doesn't allow for an association to take on such a task. These specifications became known as the COSMOS-standard, which today encapsulates Cosmebio's technical commitment.

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Cosmebio, a big family united in their commitment

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Here a part of the members of Cosmebio's Technical Commission

Over the past 16 years, Cosmébio has seen its membership jump from 10 laboratories to more than 380 companies. And every day new companies are contacting us to join up and come on board.

Membership is open to all companies that share our vision of real organic cosmetics. So if that's you, sign up! All we ask is that you commit to the founding principles laid out in the Cosmébio Charter.
 

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Dans les coulisses de Cosmébio

Our projects
 

Nestled in the heart of the Drôme, the Cosmébio team is based just near Valence, striving daily towards:

  1. Helping to enhance the skills of professionals in the field: each year we organise over 20 training courses and webinars to train our members on aspects that affect all different company spheres.
     
  2. Helping to boost market development: we are constantly posting messages and sending out information on a daily basis to share our philosophy with consumers. We also regularly take part in trade fairs and set up meetings between professionals within the sector to help them create opportunities and build their networks.
     
  3. Standing up for consumer interests: we work closely alongside a whole host of different entities to make progress and steer things in the right direction. We are members of the Mouvement des Entrepreneurs de la Nouvelle Économie (Movement for New Economy Entrepreneurs) and Natexbio (French federation for organic processors and distributors). We also frequently work alongside the association COSMED and Ecotox (French scientific platform for research into ecotoxicology and environmental toxicology). We regularly question government ministers on issues we consider to be cause for concern.

An association with a little team, but a big availability

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Nicolas - Manager
Nicolas forms the bridge
between the Cosmebio team and the Board of Directors.

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Véronique - Member Relations Manager
Véronique is the main contact for all our members,
helping them throughout the year.

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Justine - Technical Manager
Justine is there to help our members
with the technical side of their products.

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Marine - Communication Manager
Marine is our voice to raise awareness,
and also the person behind our social media presence and website.

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Jade - Business Developer
Jade is there to lead and develop a dynamic,
tight-knit network for our members to build links with each other.

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Mélissa - Technical Manager
Mélissa stands in for Justine,
who is on maternity leave.


A deeply committed Board of Directors

Beyond our members and team of 5 staff, Cosmebio is run by a Board of Directors, which is elected by all of the association members. It sets our strategic direction with the help of four commissions –  Technical Commission, Distribution Commission, Communication Commission and Ethical Commission.

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Since 2014 Romain Ruth, MD of Florame, has been Chairman of the Board of Directors, which currently includes the following members:

- Valérie Demars-Marcadet, Vice-chairwoman - Cosmetics Manger for Laboratoires Léa
- Pierre Charlier de Chily, Vice-chairman - Charmain of Aldivia
- Samuel Gabory, Treasurer - CEO of Nature et Stratégie
- Agnès Ducrocq, Assistant Treasurer - Chairwoman of Laboratoires Téane
- Philippe Laratte, Secretary-general - Chairman of Boutique Nature
- Claudie Ravel - MD of Guayapi
- Michèle Cros - Manager of Douces Angevines
- Elise Besse - MD of Melvita
- Régis Lelong - CEO of Laboratoire Odysud
- Laurent Milet - Chairman of Laboratoire Phyto-Actif
- Benjamin Aiach - CEO of AB COSMETIC (Marilou bio et Charlotte Baby & Family)