In beauty as in other industries, "Made in France" is all the rage. However, do we necessarily have to convert to it in order to buy clean?
Consuming more responsibly, by favoring national producers, or even short circuits... this trend, which has been emerging for some time, has taken off with the health crisis. In beauty too, consumers are demanding healthier products and are attaching more and more importance to their origin. However, is it so easy to attach the label "Made in France" to a beauty product? And does that necessarily mean being clean ?
Much easier in food than in cosmetics
On the food side , you can easily choose a circuit with as few intermediaries as possible by buying your basket of vegetables from an AMAP (Association pour le Maintien d'une Agriculture Paysanne) or from the local market gardener-producer, support the restaurateur who uses local and seasonal products . In addition, foodstuffs (fruits & vegetables, meats, cheeses, etc.) are subject to mandatory origin marking as part of health regulations. There are AOP (Protected Designation of Origin) and IGP (Protected Geographical Indication), France Labels, etc.
Three good reasons to choose Beauty “Made in France”
- Strict regulations. The European Union has adopted some of the most stringent regulations on cosmetics in the world. Some substances are regulated, others have been banned, good manufacturing practices (ISO 22716 quality standard) concerning the entire production chain from raw materials to waste and shipping methods are set. And any product sold in an official channel within the EU, whether a physical or virtual point of sale, must comply with it.
- Support the local economy and ensure respectful working conditions for employees. In France, a minimum wage is guaranteed with deducted working time, mutual insurance now compulsory for each employee, occupational medicine, etc.
- Reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transport (by preventing a product from traveling around the planet three times before arriving on shelves).
The “Made in France” marking is not a 100% guarantee
Marking the origin of a non-food product is optional in Europe. However, as soon as the words "Made in France" or "Fabriqué en France" appear on a cosmetic product, its manufacturers must comply with the non-preferential rules of origin adopted at the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the applicable European provisions. These make it possible to establish the nationality of a product, when production factors of various origins are involved in its composition, its raw materials or its manufacturing stages. These rules and provisions require, among other things, that the last assembly stage, or its final substantial transformation, has been carried out on French territory.
In summary, the “Made in France” label does not guarantee that the ingredients come from France, but that at least one of the key stages of its design was carried out in France.
The Origine France Garantie label, for example, requires 83% manufacturing to take place in France.
The Raw Materials Puzzle
African Shea, Moroccan Argan, Mexican Aloe Vera, Comorian Ylang, Turkish Rose or Calabrian Bergamot… to name just a few ingredients of plant origin. It’s not easy to formulate a cosmetic – and even more so a perfume – with only ingredients sourced on French soil. The same goes for packaging (pumps, tubes, etc.), which can be manufactured abroad, and not necessarily in Southeast Asia.
Some of the raw materials are therefore imported into France, but once on the territory, companies are now vigilant about the fact that the processing stages up to the finished product take place in a limited space.
Local cosmetics, in vogue
In recent years, we have seen the emergence of "local brands" that not only highlight a raw material from their region, but also ensure global manufacturing within a radius of around a hundred kilometers around their base. Most choose to focus on a flagship ingredient that they grow themselves or that they collect from small regional producers, ensuring them an income. A "short circuit" or "locavore" of cosmetics adopted by Graine de Pastel in the Toulouse region, Océopin around Cap-Ferret, Pulpe de Vie in the PACA region, La Chênaie or Vinésime in Burgundy...
Major groups are now getting involved: for the cornflower used by Klorane in one of its flagship lines, 48 km separate the place where the plant is grown from the two factories manufacturing the products, around Castres and Toulouse. Yves Rocher has a "garden" in La Gacilly, its Breton stronghold where its factories are located, where most of its plants are grown, and has just relocated the production of its floral waters there, previously manufactured in the South of France! And L'Oréal has two "local" brands: Sanoflore, rooted in the Vercors, and La Provençale, made from AOP olive oil.
This Made in France can be exported outside of France since certain national brands sell throughout France and sometimes in many other countries.
And what about Clean in all this?
Buying Clean does not necessarily mean buying “Made in France” since many foreign Clean beauty brands exist.
What you need to keep in mind is that by buying French, you guarantee traceability, ethical pay and, to a large extent, a reduction in the carbon footprint through transport. In terms of formulation, some French cosmetic brands are "cleaning" their products by removing controversial substances , and are rethinking their packaging to make it as eco-responsible as possible.
In conclusion, when you buy a product "made in France", it is not necessarily clean, far from it. But it is already good to think locally in all your consumption acts, whether it is beauty, food or ready-to-wear.
The ideal, you will have understood, is to favor clean AND made in France brands.
