NATRUE Label
Agreement
Certified Finished
Products
Version 7 - 2020

NATRUE- Agreement Usage of the Label – Version 7 - Certified Finish Products - 2020

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TABLE of CONTENTS
Agreement on the Usage of the NATRUE Label

Chapters:
1. Foreword
2. Certification Requirements
3. Labelling Requirements
4. NATRUE Label Fee
5. Sanction List
6. Termination of the Agreement
7. Conclusion

Page 3
Page 3
Page 5
Page 5
Page 6
Page 7
Page 7

Appendix X: Signature of the NATRUE Label Agreement

Annexes:
Annex A: NATRUE Label Fees
Annex B: NATRUE Membership – Application Form
Annex C: NATRUE Label Guide
Annex D: Flow chart
Annex E: NATRUE’s Glossary

Latest Version of the Annexes is always publically available in the NATRUE website
www.natrue.org
betweenNATRUE AISBL - The International Association for Natural and Organic Cosmetics
c/o MAI- Maison des Associations Internationales
40, rue Washington - 1050 Brussels - Belgium
Enrolled with the Crossroads Bank of Enterprises with number 820.350.873(Hereinafter referred to as NATRUE)
And the undersigning company as of Appendix X(Hereinafter referred to as the Company)

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Chapter 1. Foreword
1.1 NATRUE AISBL (International non for Profit Association) based in Brussels is The
International Natural and Organic Cosmetics Association whose objectives are:
Vision: to be the voice for all friends of true natural and organic cosmetics
Mission: to protect and promote true natural and organic cosmetics for the benefit ofconsumers worldwide.
Main Commitments:
 Ongoing development and promotion of a high quality Standard for Natural andOrganic Cosmetics
 Promotion of the NATRUE Label, as an expression of the NATRUE Standard, towhich producers certify their products via independent NATRUE Approved Certifiers.
 Participation and contribution to EU regulatory decision-making ensuring theavailabilityof
Naturaland
Organic
Cosmetic
ingredientsand advocating for a strong definition for Natural and Organic Cosmetics.
 Access for consumers to high quality information regarding Natural and Organic
Cosmetics and their ingredients.
1.2 NATRUE has drawn up the following general regulations for the use of the NATRUE
Label and which should be read in conjunction with the latest version of all relevant
documents available on the NATRUE website and/or made available by NATRUE in different
form.
1.3 The NATRUE Label is a certification mark protected by law. Action will be taken against
any unlawful usage of this Label.

Chapter 2. Certification Requirements
By signing this Agreement, the Company declares to agree with the following:
2.1 The NATRUE Label is awarded on request. For this purpose, the Company must obtaina Certificate of Compliance delivered by a NATRUE Approved Certifier after a successful
Certification Process.
2.2 Membership to NATRUE and other institutions is not a precondition for Certification –however if the Company would like to apply simultaneously for membership Category B withno additional costs, the Company can fill in the Annex B.
2.3 In order to bear the NATRUE Label for Finish Products it is necessary that at least 75%
of products of a specific brand (or sub-brand when it is specifically developed to qualify thenatural and organic cosmetic line of an already existing brand) needs to achieve NATRUE
Certification.
2.4 If the Company would produce products that are certified to another natural and organic
cosmetics standard, the calculation of the 75% threshold, required in order to obtain the
NATRUE Certification, takes into account those products certified to another natural andorganic cosmetics standard as well, but only for a period during the first two years of thecertificate in order to provide a smooth transition to the NATRUE Label. After these first two
years, the threshold of 75% must be guaranteed with products certified to the NATRUE Labelonly. Double labelling is permitted as long as the above requirements are met. Other certified
natural and organic cosmetic standards are those where verification has been carried out by
an authorised control body according to that standard. NATRUE reserves the right to accept
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or refuse previously certified products to another natural and organic cosmetics standard forvalidation of the 75% rule if this requirement is not met.
2.5 The Certification Process starts with Company’s request of Certification (application) to
one of the NATRUE Approved Certifiers. The Company agrees to rapidly make available all
the documents and records required for the process upon request and to provide the said
information truthfully and in the form requested by the chosen NATRUE Approved Certifier.
The Company hereby agrees that the documents and records provided to the NATRUEApproved Certifier may also be made available to NATRUE. The Company shall ensure thatthe above requirements shall also be met by any contracted manufacturer that it might use.
2.6 Before launching the Certification, the NATRUE Approved Certifier shall deliver thisAgreement to the Company. The Company shall send the signed Agreement to NATRUE
and to the NATRUE Approved Certifier once it has been counter-signed. The NATRUEApproved Certifier cannot continue the application request without a counter-signed versionof this Agreement on the Usage of the NATRUE Label.
2.7 The Company can market products bearing the NATRUE Label only when a Preliminary
Certificate is granted. As of the date of this Preliminary Certificate and for a period of 24months, lawful usage of the NATRUE Label shall be granted. The Final Certificate will be
issued when the production audit will be carried out successfully in accordance with theprocedures available on the NATRUE website.
2.8 The Company agrees that Certificates (Preliminary and Final) are obtained for eachproduct submitted and successfully certified. It does not extend to non-submitted products
and to products which have not been found in compliance. Moreover the Company agrees
that Certificates obtained are therefore product-based and not Company-based.
2.9 Two years after the Preliminary Certificate is obtained, the Company shall inform the
NATRUE Approved Certifier about its desire for Recertification or not. If the Company does
not wish to Recertify its products, the Company will immediately inform the NATRUEApproved Certifier about this decision and the right to use the Label shall be terminated.
2.10 The Company agrees that for the entire duration of the Final Certificate, the relevant
information related to the certified product must be uploaded to the online NATRUE databaseby the NATRUE Approved Certifier and therefore publically available. NATRUE ensures thatno-confidential information will be made available via the website or any other tool.
2.11 The Company undertakes to report any change made to a product to the NATRUEApproved Certifier which issued the NATRUE Certificates. The NATRUE Approved Certifier
shall then decide if the finished product and if applicable the entire product series still comply
with the NATRUE Standard and whether therefore the Company is authorised to continue to
use the Label.
2.12 The Company shall be entitled to continue to use the Label during the time between thechange being reported and the decision being made by the relevant NATRUE Approved
Certifier. If the modification of the product(s) leads to the loss of the Label the Company mustcease to use it. The Company may request NATRUE to provide a deadline by which products
bearing the NATRUE Label may be used/must no longer be present on the market.
2.13 The NATRUE Label is the visual sign identifying compliance to the document NATRUE
Label: requirements to be met by natural and organic cosmetics usually referred as “thestandard” or “NATRUE criteria”. The standard is developed and updated by NATRUE’s
scientific committee which reserve the right to update it regularly corresponding to the current
state of research and technology. If during the validity period of the Certification an update of
the NATRUE Standard results in a product that was already certified, but is no longer in
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compliance with the amended requirements, the possibility to implement these necessarychanges is granted to the Company, for a period up until two years after the expiration of thecurrent Certification.
2.14 If a third party indicates/complains to NATRUE that there might be a misuse of the
NATRUE Label by a Company and/or if NATRUE itself has reason to believe that there might
be such misuse, NATRUE may inform the Company concerned thereof. If necessary,
NATRUE may investigate the matter and/or appoint a third independent party to investigate
the matter. The Company agrees that the investigating third party shall examine all necessary
documentation in order to ascertain if the complaint is legitimate. During this process theCompany shall grant access to the independent investigator to all documents or informationin general, in order for the independent investigator to confirm or refute the allegation.
NATRUE and the Company are informed of the findings of the investigation. In case thecomplaint is legitimate and the Company has misused the NATRUE Label, NATRUE may
terminate this Agreement with immediate effect. NATRUE reserves the right to claim
additional sanctions and take legal action against the Company.
2.15 To safeguard the correct application of Certification procedures NATRUE has appointed
an independent Accreditation Body to control the overall performance of the NATRUEApproved Certifiers. The Company agrees that in the context of accreditation, personnel
appointed by the Accreditation Body may supervise certification activities carried out by theApproved Certifier which includes access to documents and witnesses during on-site audit.

Chapter 3. Labelling Requirements
3.1 The NATRUE Logo is available for download on the website www.natrue.org. If theCompany requires different versions of the Logo, the Company can contact NATRUE.
3.2 The Company agrees that the Label and the NATRUE Logo can only be used for the
products that have been successfully certified by a NATRUE Approved Certifier. The
products of a brand/sub-brand which do not satisfy the NATRUE standard (max. 25% of the
products contained in the series) cannot bear the Label.
3.3 The use of the Label is subject to the regulations set out in the NATRUE Label guide
Annex C. Exceptions concerning the application of the NATRUE Label Guide can be inquired
to NATRUE. NATRUE reserves the right to accept or refuse this derogation.

Chapter 4. NATRUE Label Fee
4.1 After successfully accomplishing the Certification Process, in order to use the NATRUE
Label, the Company shall pay the corresponding Label Fee. The NATRUE Label Fee isaimed at ensuring NATRUE the financial resources enabling the Association to pursue its
mission and goals as laid down in Chapter 1.
4.2 The NATRUE Label Fee is specified in the Annex A of this Agreement. In case of revisionof the NATRUE Label Fee, all Label users will be notified and redirected to the updated Annex
A, which is always publically available on the NATRUE website at www.natrue.org. The
amended fee will only be applicable to new brands who obtained the use of the Label after
the amended fee was published. For those brands who were already certified to use theLabel, the amended Label fee will be applicable when the recertification takes place. This
principle is applicable no matter if the label fee increases or decreases.
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4.3 The NATRUE Label Fee is directly invoiced by NATRUE to the Company signing thisAgreement unless indicated otherwise, once the Certification Process is successfully carriedout, which means when the products have been granted with the Final Certificate and are
activated on the NATRUE Label Extranet. NATRUE and the NATRUE Approved Certifier
share a system of alert (so called Extranet) which informs NATRUE in real time about the
product Certification. When products are visible on-line on the NATRUE website, they
become eligible for invoicing of the Label Fee. It is the responsibility of the Company to ensurethat the certification validity correspond as much as possible with the intended marketing datein order to avoid discrepancies in the validly time of the Final Certificate and actual possibilityof use of the Label.
4.4 The number of products from a brand registered in the Extranet at the time of checking
is relevant for the determination of the product range to calculate the appropriate Label Fee.
4.6 Products which are not yet listed in the NATRUE Label Extranet at the time of issuing theinvoice, but which are already planned to be NATRUE certified in the future, will not be taken
into account for the calculation of the NATRUE Label Fee.
4.7 Agreements and exceptions between the Company and the NATRUE Approved Certifierthat are supposed to differently regulate this matter are not allowed.
4.8 Different packaging units (volume) are not considered as separate products with regards
to the NATRUE Label Fee, this applies as well for products resulting from secondary
packaging incorporating more items which are already certified.
4.9 In the case of decorative cosmetics that are marketed in a range of colour shades andwhose colouring agents may all be listed in the INCI declaration with the notice “may contain…” or the symbol “+/-“ as regulated under Article 19(g) of the EU Cosmetics Regulation (EC)No. 1223/2009, only the basic formula shall be regarded as a product with regards to the
NATRUE Label Fee (so called “Decorative Cosmetics Rule”). However, in order to ensure acomplete information for the consumers they can be registered as separate entries in the
Extranet leading to multiple records in the NATRUE website product database.
4.10 VAT (Value Added Tax) number – relevant only for European Union based
companies. VAT number must be valid at European level in order to be used for European
transactions. EU level validation can be checked with the on-line tool VIES
(http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/vies/). NATRUE’s invoices are issued under the reverse
charge mechanism - art 44 VAT Directive 2006/112/EC) if the VAT Company number is valid
at EU level and provided. If not provided, NATRUE will need to charge 21% Belgian VAT on
the invoice (NATRUE will charge the VAT percentage according to the Belgian law – which
may vary within the time).

Chapter 5. Sanction Lists
5.1 The right to use the NATRUE Label shall end if NATRUE terminates this agreement for
an important reason. An important reason shall particularly be deemed to apply if theCompany breaches the provisions of this Agreement and fails to redress the breach within aperiod of four weeks after receiving a demand in writing to do so from NATRUE. Breaches ofthis Agreement would exist if the Company:
 Use/print the label for/on a product or a product series that does not comply the
NATRUE Standard (i.e. no Certificate has been granted).
 Use the Label not in compliance with the mandatory rules set forth in the NATRUE
Label guide (cf. Annexe C).
NATRUE- Agreement Usage of the Label – Version 7 - Certified Finish Products - 20206 Failure to settle invoices pertaining the NATRUE Label Fee Other action in contrast with the requirements of this Agreement

Chapter 6. Termination of the Agreement
6.1 The Certificate is valid for two years after which the Company, if the Company still wants
to use the NATRUE-Label, will need to recertify the products by informing the NATRUEApproved Certifier within the last 4-months before the termination of the usage of the Label.
6.2 If the Company remains silent about their intentions whether or not to renew the
Certificate, the right to use the Label shall automatically be terminated, two years after the
Certificate has been granted.
6.3 After termination of the Agreement, the Company is allowed to sell remaining stock of
products bearing the NATRUE Label through general distribution channels, only if the
production has taken place during the validity time of the Certification.

Chapter 7. Conclusions
7.1 This Agreement is only drafted in English, whereas the documents/communication
provided by NATRUE are available in multiple languages. No translations of this Agreement
will be provided and no signed translations will be accepted by NATRUE. However theCompany can, at its own cost, demand by an appointed professional translator, a translationin order to understand all the provisions of this Agreement. NATRUE does not take any
responsibility if the content will differ from the English version, which is the legally binding
version.
7.2 No verbal subsidiary agreements have been made. Amendments, supplements andadditions to this Agreement shall only be valid if they have been agreed in writing between
the parties to the Agreement.
7.3 If a provision in this Agreement is or becomes invalid, this shall not affect the validity of
the remainder of the Agreement. The parties shall undertake to replace the invalid provision
by a valid provision which is as close as possible to the commercial objective of the invalid
provision. The same shall apply in the event that this Agreement proves to contain a loophole.
7.4 Belgian law will govern this Agreement

NATRUE AISBL
MAI- Maison des Associations Internationales
40, rue Washington - 1050 Brussels
Belgium
Enrolled with the Crossroads Bank of Enterprises with number 820.350.873
Phone: +32 (0)2 631 29 30
Fax: +32 (0)2 613 29 39
info@natrue.eu - www.natrue.org

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Appendix X
Signature of the Agreement on the Usage of the NATRUE Labelfor Certification of Finish Products

Options available to fill in the following pages:
Case 1: company with its own production (page 9)Case 2: company with external production OPTION A: the brand owner sign theAgreement and pay the NATRUE label fee (page 10)Case 2: company with external production OPTION B: the contract
manufactures sign the Agreement and pay the NATRUE label fee (page 11-12)

NATRUE's signature marks its agreement to the unaltered terms of the Agreement on the
Usage of the NATRUE Label and its Appendices and to the adhesion by the other signatory
thereto.

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Case 1: company with its own production
Label User brand(s) – please fill in one agreement per brand
Brand: __________________________________________________________
Company name and address:________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________VAT number: _____________________________________________________
Contact person for certification matters:
Name: __________________________________________________________
Position: ________________________________________________________
e- mail: _________________________________________________________
Contact person for marketing/communication matters:
Name: __________________________________________________________
Position: ________________________________________________________
e- mail: _________________________________________________________
Contact person for accounting matters (responsible for receiving NATRUE Label fee):
Name: __________________________________________________________
Position: ________________________________________________________
e- mail: _________________________________________________________NATRUE Approved certifier appointed for certification: ____________________
Agreement with NATRUE Approved Certifiers signed on: ___________________
Planned numbers of products to be certified: ___________________________

Place,
Date,

Place, Brussels
Date,

Signature,
Company stamp,

NATRUENATRUE- Agreement Usage of the Label – Version 7 - Certified Finish Products - 20209

Case 2: company with external production OPTION A: the brand owner sign theAgreement and pay the NATRUE label fee. Each Label User is free to work with one ormore contract manufacturers but by signing this part agrees to keep under its own
responsibility the adherence to the provision of this Agreement. The name of the contract
manufacturers is not required at this stage but it will need to be disclosed in the certification
process.
Label User brand(s) - please fill in one agreement per brand
Brand: __________________________________________________________
Company name and address (owner of the brand):________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________VAT number :_____________________________________________________
Contact person for certification matters:
Name: __________________________________________________________
Position: ________________________________________________________
e- mail: _________________________________________________________
Contact person for marketing/communication matters:
Name: __________________________________________________________
Position: ________________________________________________________
e- mail: _________________________________________________________
Contact person for accounting matters (responsible for receiving NATRUE Label fee):
Name: ___________________________________________________________
Position: _________________________________________________________
e- mail: __________________________________________________________NATRUE Approved certifier appointed for certification: ____________________
Agreement with NATRUE Approved Certifiers signed on: ___________________
Planned numbers of products to be certified: ___________________________
Place,
Date,

Place, Brussels
Date,

Signature,
Company stamp,

NATRUENATRUE- Agreement Usage of the Label – Version 7 - Certified Finish Products - 202010

Case 2: Company with external production OPTION B: the contract manufactures sign
the Agreement and pay the NATRUE label fee. Each Label User is free to work with one
or more contract manufacturers which by signing this part are ultimately responsible ofadherence to the provision of this Agreement. It remains responsibility of the brand owner toensure new Agreements to be signed each time a new contract manufacturer is appointed.
Third Party Manufacturer: __________________________________________
Company address (Third Party Manufacturer):________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Brand owner (Company name):________________________________________________________________
Label User brand(s) - specify if more than one brand
Brand: __________________________________________________________
Brand (etc...): ____________________________________________________VAT number (from company paying the Label Fee):________________________________________________________________
Contact person for certification matters:
Name: __________________________________________________________
Position: ________________________________________________________
e- mail: _________________________________________________________
Contact person for marketing/communication matters:
Name: __________________________________________________________
Position: ________________________________________________________
e- mail: _________________________________________________________
Contact person for accounting matters (responsible for receiving NATRUE Label fee):
Name: __________________________________________________________
Position: ________________________________________________________
e- mail: _________________________________________________________NATRUE- Agreement Usage of the Label – Version 7 - Certified Finish Products - 2020

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NATRUE Approved certifier appointed for certification: _______________________
Agreement with NATRUE Approved Certifiers signed on: _______________________
Planned numbers of products to be certified: _______________________________

Place,
Date,

Place, Brussels
Date,

Signature,
Company stamp,

NATRUENATRUE- Agreement Usage of the Label – Version 7 - Certified Finish Products - 202012