Online cosmetics: The ingredients do not need to be declared

Care products must be declared in stores, but not online

If you buy care products and cosmetics physically in the shops, there is a legal requirement to see all the ingredients. However, there is no requirement to disclose the ingredients if you shop online.

The Consumer Council THINK Chemicals has surveyed 31 of the most popular webshops for information on content in care products. The information was incomplete in 11 of the 31 webshops in the test.

Be aware of unwanted chemicals in care products

Care products and cosmetics may contain problematic substances such as MI, which are allergenic.

The products may also contain perfuming substances that are allergenic or parabens that are suspected of being endocrine disruptors.

4 tips: Use the app ‘Kemiluppen’ and check the product for unwanted chemicals

Check the ingredient list on the product when you receive it. Return the product if it contains substances that you would like to avoid in your care products.
Also look for eco-labels and Swan labels when shopping online for products without perfume and a number of problematic substances.
Buy care products from Danish and EU online stores. Here you get a product that complies with EU requirements.
Search for the products with the app Kemiluppen before you buy them, and find unwanted chemicals in cosmetics and care products. Download Kemiluppen in the App Store or Google Play.

The Consumer Council THINK Chemicals states: Gap in the legislation on online declaration

“It is important that consumers can see the ingredients in order to make an informed choice, so that they can, for example, opt for a hand cream with glycerin that provides moisture to the skin, or have the opportunity to opt out substances that can have negative effects. Here, consumers must have the same amount of information available when they shop online as in physical stores.”

Stine Müller, project manager at The Consumer Council THINK Chemicals

Minister of the Environment: We are working on it

“Danish consumers must have the same rights, regardless of whether they shop online or in a physical store. They need to know what the products contain so that they can safely buy shampoo, hand cream or mascara without the risk of it containing harmful chemicals. In the EU, we are already working to introduce legal requirements so that consumers can be informed what the cosmetics we buy online contain of ingredients”.

Lea Wermelin, Minister of the Environment

Learn more here

The Consumer Council THINK Chemicals has conducted a random survey of 31 of the most popular online stores that sell care products and cosmetics.

The sample in each webshop is 15-20 care products and cosmetics. It is everything from shampoos and creams to mascara and perfumes.

The survey must be taken with the provision that a small number of products have been checked based on a large selection of products.

The online stores that are in the category "no or only a few products have a declaration online" have been consulted. The stores have not done anything legally wrong, as there is no legal requirement to disclose ingredients online.

Online stores with care products that declare all or many products
- Aesop.com
- Apopro.dk
- Apotekets.dk
- Beautepacifique.dk
- Boozt.com
- Clinique.dk
- Coop.dk
- Helsebixen.dk
- Karmameju.dk
- Lookfantastic.dk
- Matas.dk
- Med24.dk
- Mecindo.dk
- Nemlig.com
- Nilensjord.dk
- Rituals.dk
- Sephora.dk
- Urtekrambeauty.dk
- Webapoteket.dk
- Zalando.dk
Online stores with care products that declare no or few products
- Asos.dk
- Aloeveradanmark.com
- Beautycos.dk
- Bilka.dk og Føtex.dk
- Billigparfume.dk
- Billigvoks.dk
- Hm.com
- Luxplus.dk
- Magasin.dk
- Nicehair.dk
Aloeveradanmark.com

“Until now, it has not been something we have had a great demand for, because the vast majority of our customers know about Aloevera. However, it is something we can easily consider. ”

Beautycos.dk

“This is not something we have prioritized to do when we create products, as we do not have a very high demand for the ingredient list. If we choose to add ingredient lists to the product, it will also provide more maintenance, as we would constantly have to double-check that we have the correct info. ”

Bilka.dk and Føtex.dk (Salling Group)

“We do not label care products with ingredient lists. There is today the GS1 system, which in principle could pass on information about ingredients, but we do not want to use it, as the customer can only see the latest version of the product, which can thus be very misleading for this type of product, which may have up to several years of shelf life.
In the ideal world, it would be incredibly nice to reproduce the information online, but at the same time, we do not experience any special demand from customers. ”

Billigparfume.dk

“We actually have an ingredient list on some of our products, primarily makeup and skin care and individual fragrances. There are over 6,000 active products in the shop right now, and it is a small company, so I have updated the products regularly - also with ingredients. ”

Hm.com

“We always strive to be transparent to our customers about our products, which also applies to our cosmetics and care products. Including the ingredients on these products at www.hm.com enables our customers to make choices that are more informed. We are still working to increase the ingredient lists throughout our range. ”

Nicehair.dk

“We include ingredient lists on the brands where they are made available. Brands such as Kérastase, Dermalogica, Jane Iredale all have ingredient lists on the product descriptions. ”

Asos.dk, Billigvoks.dk, Luxplus.dk and Magasin.dk have not responded to the Consumer Council Think’s inquiries.

Contact us

Do you have any questions regarding the test? Or do you want to receive news articles regarding our tests in English?

Send an email request to Danish Consumer Council THINK Chemicals.

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