On April 29, 2022, China’s leading e-commerce platform JD.com issued two new platform rules: the Quality Standards for Quality Certification of Lotion and Cream Cosmetics ¹ and the Quality Standards for Quality Certification of Essence Cosmetics ². The two standards specify the terms and definitions, determination criterion, and quality certification rules for the quality certification of essence products as well as lotion and cream products, respectively. Both standards came into force on May 6, 2022.

The key contents of the two standards are as follows:

■ "Quality Certification" Label

According to the standards, only products that meet the prescribed quality requirements will have a "Quality Certification" label, which will be displayed on the product search result page and product details page.

Merchants can upload their qualifications to apply for this label through the product qualification management page through the merchant manage interface. After reviewing the merchant’s qualifications and evaluating the product quality, JD.com will mark the "Quality Certification" label for qualified products. Moreover, JD.com will also carry out regular sampling inspections for quality certified products. If the merchant’s quality index does not meet the standards or negative public opinion appears, the label will be cancelled.

Essence products with a

■ Cosmetics Quality Sampling Inspections

The cosmetics quality sampling inspections will be carried out by third-party testing institutions that meet the following qualification requirements:

1. have passed the China Metrology Accreditation (CMA) accreditation and the China National Accreditation Service for Conformity Assessment (CNAS) accreditation; and

2. have been registered with NMPA’s cosmetics registration and notification testing information management system; and

3. have been recognized by JD.com.

■ Quality Requirements for Cosmetics Quality Certification

The following four test indicators are considered to judge whether cosmetics reach the quality requirements of quality certification, namely, safety, stability, usability, and efficacy:

1. Safety: it focuses on the detection and determination of cosmetics from seven dimensions, namely, prohibited ingredients, restricted ingredients, allergenic ingredients, irritating ingredients, heavy metals, environmental safety, and notification inspections. Specific testing items and limitation requirements are listed below. 

2. Stability: it focuses on the product evaluation from five dimensions, namely, physical and chemical test evaluation, sensory quality evaluation, weather resistance evaluation, light stability evaluation, and consistency evaluation. The specific testing items include color, appearance, odor, PH value, and heat and cold resistance.

Specific testing items and requirements of stability test indicators

3. Usability: it focuses on the product evaluation from three dimensions, namely appearance evaluation, odor evaluation, and use sensory evaluation. The product evaluation is carried out through survey, and the specific scoring method is subject to the questionnaire.

Specific testing items and requirements of usability test indicators

4. Efficacy: it focuses on evaluating the product efficacy claim from four dimensions, namely human efficacy evaluation test, consumer use test, laboratory test, and literature or research data.

Testing items and requirements for cosmetic efficacy claim evaluation

• Regarding the testing method, the whitening efficacy shall be tested in accordance with the Safety and Technical Standards for Cosmetics. The moisturizing efficacy can be tested according to industrial standard QB/T 4256-2011 Guideline for Evaluation of Cosmetics Moisture Efficacy. For efficacy claims that do not have mandatory standards or technical specifications in China, an appropriate method should be selected for testing per the Standards for Cosmetic Efficacy Claim Evaluation.
  

• Regarding the results determination, JD.com has set different scoring standards for “products exempt from submission of efficacy evaluation abstracts” and “products requiring efficacy claim evaluation and submission of efficacy claim basis abstracts”.
  

ChemLinked Comments

1. JD’s launch of "Quality Certification" label enables consumers to quickly select premium products that are better than the national or industry quality standards, which is conducive to improving the quality of products on the platform and promoting the growth of premium offerings, thereby push the industry towards a healthy and standardized phase of development.

2. So far, there are very few brands have obtained the certification. Cosmetics with the "Quality Certification" label are likely to win the favor of consumers and have a great competitive advantage in sales and marketing on JD.com.

3. Apart from JD.com, several other e-commerce platforms, such as Douyin, Kuaishou, and Xiaohongshu, have also set stricter platform requirements targeting cosmetics. Take China's second-largest short video sharing app Kuaishou for instance. It released three platform rules in April 2022 to regulate the efficacy claims and advertisements of the beauty industry. ³

   The moves of these platforms show the regulatory tightening of cosmetic e-commerce. Cosmetic e-commerce stakeholders need to stay vigilant about the updates to the platform rules so as to mitigate compliance risks and avoid losses.