2024 universal registration document

Business risks/Product quality and safety
Placing a product on the market that does not meet the safety requirements, or consumer or stakeholder questions about the quality and safety of L’Oréal products, whether based on proven facts or not and whether or not they are related to the use or misuse of a product, could affect consumer confidence, the Group’s sales and, more generally, its financial position, particularly if individual or group claims are brought or products recalled.	Consumer safety is an absolute priority for L’Oréal: assessing safety is central to any new product development process and a prerequisite before any new product can be brought to the market. The principles governing the Group’s quality and safety policy are: satisfaction of customer needs; compliance with safety requirements and laws; maintenance of standards and regular updates of safety assessment approaches; and product quality and compliance across the supply chain. The Environmental Safety Department specifically evaluates the safety of raw materials and finished products. It establishes the toxicological profile of the ingredients used and the tolerance of the formulas before they are launched on the market, so that the Group’s products can be guaranteed to be completely safe for consumer use. The same safety standards are applied worldwide to ensure identical quality across the globe. In anticipation of updates to regulations, the environmental profiles of the raw materials (that exist or are included in the catalogue) in finished products are also evaluated with the aim of reducing the environmental impact of the ingredients used by the Group. Through its international cosmeto-vigilance network, L’Oréal goes one step further in safety assessments by monitoring the potential adverse effects that may arise once the product is on the market, in order to take the appropriate corrective measures, if necessary (see section 4.10). In terms of questions that members of civil society may ask regarding certain substances and their effects on health and the environment, L’Oréal’s position can be summarised in three points: vigilant monitoring of any relevant new scientific data; cooperation with the relevant authorities; and precaution leading to the substitution of ingredients in the event of a proven or strongly suspected risk. L’Oréal draws on the work of its scientific teams to answer consumers’ questions about the safety of its products. Quality standards are defined by our Conception Quality Systems for Formulas, Packagings and Manufacturing Processes and by our Conformity Quality Systems for Production and Supply Chain. All factories are ISO 9001 certified for their production and follow the Best Manufacturing Practices in accordance with the ISO 22716 standard. In the case of production subcontracting, the rules governing the choice of the subcontractor and its production follow the same principles. The subcontracting quality charter takes up these requirements, compliance with which is assessed during audits, with the plan regularly strengthened to ensure appropriate checks of our partners.

Business risks/Product quality and safety

Risk identification

Risk management

Placing a product on the market that does not meet the safety requirements, or consumer or stakeholder questions about the quality and safety of L’Oréal products, whether based on proven facts or not and whether or not they are related to the use or misuse of a product, could affect consumer confidence, the Group’s sales and, more generally, its financial position, particularly if individual or group claims are brought or products recalled.

Consumer safety is an absolute priority for L’Oréal: assessing safety is central to any new product development process and a prerequisite before any new product can be brought to the market. The principles governing the Group’s quality and safety policy are:

satisfaction of customer needs;
compliance with safety requirements and laws;
maintenance of standards and regular updates of safety assessment approaches; and
product quality and compliance across the supply chain.

The Environmental Safety Department specifically evaluates the safety of raw materials and finished products. It establishes the toxicological profile of the ingredients used and the tolerance of the formulas before they are launched on the market, so that the Group’s products can be guaranteed to be completely safe for consumer use. The same safety standards are applied worldwide to ensure identical quality across the globe.

In anticipation of updates to regulations, the environmental profiles of the raw materials (that exist or are included in the catalogue) in finished products are also evaluated with the aim of reducing the environmental impact of the ingredients used by the Group.

Through its international cosmeto-vigilance network, L’Oréal goes one step further in safety assessments by monitoring the potential adverse effects that may arise once the product is on the market, in order to take the appropriate corrective measures, if necessary (see section 4.10).

In terms of questions that members of civil society may ask regarding certain substances and their effects on health and the environment, L’Oréal’s position can be summarised in three points:

vigilant monitoring of any relevant new scientific data;
cooperation with the relevant authorities; and
precaution leading to the substitution of ingredients in the event of a proven or strongly suspected risk.

L’Oréal draws on the work of its scientific teams to answer consumers’ questions about the safety of its products.

Quality standards are defined by our Conception Quality Systems for Formulas, Packagings and Manufacturing Processes and by our Conformity Quality Systems for Production and Supply Chain. All factories are ISO 9001 certified for their production and follow the Best Manufacturing Practices in accordance with the ISO 22716 standard. In the case of production subcontracting, the rules governing the choice of the subcontractor and its production follow the same principles. The subcontracting quality charter takes up these requirements, compliance with which is assessed during audits, with the plan regularly strengthened to ensure appropriate checks of our partners.

2024 universal registration document

3. Risk factors and management