This is an important informational post for any members or others who know crafters who make and sell bath and body products. I know there are lots of people dabbling in this and thinking maybe I should try and sell what Im making. Ive been to a couple craft shows recently and saw many new vendors selling these types of items. In looking at their wares, I could tell immediately that they were not aware of the Health Canada regulations and labeling laws. Bath and body products are NOT like other crafts because they are put on peoples bodies and they may or may not have a skin reaction. Your skin is the largest organ in your body and it absorbs what is placed on it. That being said, if you make these items for yourself or as gifts there are no specific regulations. Once money changes hands for an item (not matter how much the cost), the rules change. By law, you have 10 days to register your products with Health Canada by submitting cosmetic notification forms and abiding by the labeling laws. This is the law if you’re SELLING bath and body products .....no matter if you only sell $10/yr or $1,000,000. It doesnt matter if you are a real business or not. If you sell, you MUST register. Its free to register, just a bit of paperwork. I know that most people start selling and dont check into whats all required, but its pretty serious if caught and you arent Health Canada compliant. Also, theres the whole insurance thing that makes people rethink selling. If a customer breaks out in a rash or whatever, lawsuits are a risky.......... not worth losing my house over to sell a few items at a craft show. And no, your regular home insurance will NOT cover this type of thing. In fact, if you dont have separate insurance and your home insurance finds out, they may just drop you altogether. But thats another topic. Any and all soap, lotions, bath salts, lip balms, etc.... are ALL considered cosmetics in Canada. One of the reasons for this is that there are hot ingredients that should never be used in bath and body products. Ive come across a number of different unregistered vendors selling products that contain liquid potpourri or candle scents to fragrance their bath and body products. THIS IS DANGEROUS!!! Liquid potpourri is absolutely NOT safe and candle scents are NOT safe to use for bath and body products unless they SPECIFICALLY say candle and body safe. Most skin safe fragrances ARE candle safe as long as they have a high flash point, but not rarely the other way around. I just want everyone to be aware of possible dangers. Its exactly situations like this, why these products are Health Canada regulated. Im knowledgeable about these matters because Ive been in the bath & body product manufacturing business for 16 years, so Im pretty up on whats what. I stopped selling at shows last year and plan on officially closing my business Dec 31, 2014 ........ so its not a matter of me worrying about competition. Its a concern about consumer safety! For those interested or for whom these laws are applicable to, here are the links. the Health Canada Cosmetic Notification website hc-sc.gc.ca/cps-spc/cosmet-person/notification-declaration/index-eng.php And heres the labelling laws site hc-sc.gc.ca/cps-spc/pubs/indust/cosmetics-cosmetiques/index-eng.php
Posted on: Tue, 11 Nov 2014 15:36:44 +0000
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