Brexit: How will it affect cosmetics packaging?

On Halloween, the Brexit nightmare should finally be over. Until then, Great Britain and the EU member states need to find a solution for Britain’s exit from the EU. However, no-one really knows what the conditions will be. If no agreement can be reached, as has been the case so far, there is still the risk of Britain leaving without a deal. The consequences affect numerous economic branches, among them the cosmetics and packaging industry as well as the process industry.

If the United Kingdom leaves the European Union without a deal, this would result in several changes for the packaging industry. After Brexit without a deal, cosmetics made in Great Britain would need new markings and would have to be registered with the European Commission. The requirements on the other side of the Channel are similarly complex.

For cosmetic products, a hard Brexit would require all future packaging to state the manufacturer’s address in the country in which the product is offered.

In addition, in future a list of information on the cosmetic agent must be transferred to the European Commission via the Cosmetic Product Notification Portal (CPNP) for all British cosmetics products.

For daily care products that are delivered throughout Europe and are registered in the CPNP prior to the exit date, the procedure is a bit simpler: Within 90 days, manufacturers in the United Kingdom have to submit the following information:

• Product category and name
• Name of the responsible body
• Storage location of product information
• Contact details for a natural person in case of queries
• Product framework wording

For cosmetics that are offered on the British market after Brexit, the distributing company must first transmit all necessary product information via the Secretary of State’s database. The product information file must also be printed in the national language of the respective member state.