Feature Highlights
The Cost of Beauty
By Kamarul Aznam Kamaruzaman
Nov 1, 2006, 15:50

Cancer - genital abnormalities - distortion and damage of genetic information - passed down from mothers to their children. These side effects are reasons enough for cosmetic users to shun most, if not all, cosmetics and personal care products that are already on the shelves. Then there is the Halal concern.

With the growing global trend for all things healthy and natural, the arrival of Halal as a global concern is indeed much-awaited, especially concerning the titivated and superficial world of cosmetics. As various consumer groups continue to mount pressure for safe and verifiable cosmetic products, the Halal industry too should be demanding manufacturers to adhere to their own set of requirements.

“I definitely see a growing trend and increasing consumer awareness about Halal cosmetics and it is definitely gathering momentum,” said Dr. Mah Hussein Gambles, founder of a UK cosmetics company, Saaf Natural Cosmeceuticals. She also happened to be approached recently by several UK based companies to develop a Halal certified skincare range on their behalf.

“To me, this is significant as it means that the industry has suddenly realised the buying power of the Halal market,” she said. That purchasing power, currently made up of 1.6 billion Muslims throughout the world, can easily find powerful allies who support ethical and healthy business, including natural and organic, vegetarian, environmentally-friendly and fair trade industries.

To be safe, Dr. Mah advised Muslim consumers to buy from ethical companies that care more about their ingredients rather than about making millions using cheap synthetic or swine derived ingredients. “Better still, see if the product is Vegetarian Society approved, since I know from experience that they are very strict and do not allow any animal ingredients or derivatives,” she added.

The Vegetarian Society developed their food labelling scheme, the seedling symbol, in 1969 when members found it increasingly hard to distinguish products that do not contain any animal derivatives as ingredients. Although known to be very stringent, the seedling is still considered as independent. But within the cosmetics industry, independent standards can still challenge the status quo, to a certain degree.

Case in point – Europe. Since September 2004, the European Union has banned more than 1,200 substances from cosmetic products, including phthalates and other chemicals still allowed in the US-made cosmetics. Phthalates, an ingredient found in 52 out of 72 tested cosmetics, deodorants and perfumes, has been linked to reproductive abnormalities in animals. By the end of 2006, the EU is expected to enact a more comprehensive legislation requiring chemical producers and users to provide basic data on potential health and environmental hazards before products can be sold.

So where does Halal fit in? Is it conveniently left out or do Muslims just not care if their compact powders are actually made from swine placenta? Even pig bristles, bones and hooves for that matter, are used to produce the cystine and gelatine widely used in food, pharmaceutical and personal care industries.

“With regard to swine placenta, I wouldn’t be surprised if it is still used in some commercial brands, in parts of the world that have little or no regulatory processes. I would advise buying cosmetics from the EU, which has very strict legislations for the manufacturer to indicate all ingredients on the label. If the product doesn’t provide an ingredient list, then the concerned consumer has to air on the side of caution,” added. Dr. Mah.

Closer to home, plans to establish a Halal standard for the cosmetics industry are in the pipeline, with Department of Standards Malaysia (DSM) through SIRIM Berhad, the sole national standards development agency, working feverishly to perfect the first Draft Malaysian Standard for Islamic Consumer Goods – Cosmetic and Personal Care General Guidelines.

The first of a three-part Islamic Consumer Goods standard will complement the existing Malaysian Halal Standard, the MS1500:2004, which focuses purely on the production and preparation of Halal foods. Extending their Islamic oriented standards, the cosmetics and personal care guideline will later be complemented by standards on Halal leatherwear and detergents, forming the second and third part under the Islamic Consumer Goods general heading.

The draft standard has so far cleared the public comments stage and the Technical Committee has received comments from four organisations in four countries. They will then deliberate the comments and after finalising the document, it will then be submitted to the Industry Standards Committee on Halal Standards (ISC I) for final acceptance.

“If you look at the new Halal cosmetics standard, there is not much difference from the MS1500:2004 for food. It is basically based on the same principles - ingredients must conform to Halal and Shariah requirements. So if they use swine or other non Halal ingredients, it won’t be allowed. The same goes for machinery, storing, labelling and packaging, right to the final stage, all must be Halal compliant,” said Saleha Jalil, senior manager, standards development – scientific & services section, SIRIM Berhad.

Saleha expects the new standard to be finalised some time in October or November this year. Once the ISC I have accepted the standard, SIRIM will submit it to DSM for final approval as a Malaysian Standard. It will then be gazetted and notified to the public and the Ministry of Science will then gazette it under the law to make it as an official government document.

“Similar to the ISO 9000 standard, this new standard should also be voluntary, unless JAKIM decides that it would be similar in structure to the MS1500:2004, which was incorporated within their existing Halal certification guidelines,” said Saleha. No JAKIM authority was available for comment at the time of press.

One thing is for sure, once this new standard is implemented, Muslim consumers can expect a full Shariah compliant standard being applied for all cosmetics and personal care products. Being the first of its kind and since JAKIM’s Halal logo is internationally recognised, the new Halal cosmetic standard should easily set the benchmark for what is acceptable for Muslims to use as far as cosmetics are concerned.

“As an industry expert, I would suggest Muslim consumers to look out for the Halal logo from JAKIM or any other JAKIM recognised Halal certification bodies on the label as the benchmark of Halal standard,” said Dr. Clara, founder and chairman of Clara International, manufacturer of Halal certified herbal based skincare products.

This view is shared by Muhammed Hamudi Sheikh Abdul Khalid, executive chairman of El-Hajj Products Sdn Bhd who also manufactures a range of Halal certified skincare products for use during umrah and hajj.

“When we first set up, we were quite surprised to learn that many major cosmetics manufacturers were still using the same ingredients that have been deemed unsafe and Haram. Advances in technology should make finding an alternative very easy, especially since the profit margin within this industry is huge. Manufacturers should be able to allocate a significant portion of their budget for R&D in Halal,” he said.

“As far as making cosmetic products Halal, JAKIM has gained a lot of international credibility for their Halal logo; all the manufacturers need to do is comply with JAKIM’s Halal standard to be able to freely use their logo for branding purposes. The benefit should be immense - the peace of mind for 1.6 billion Muslims using your cosmetic products. It’s really a no-brainer,” Hamudi added.


© Copyright 2006 by halaljournal.com