The U.S. national advertising department, BBB National Programs’ National Advertising Division (NAD), has recently concluded that certain claims made by Amyris Clean Beauty, Inc. regarding the squalene ingredient in their products violate the law. As part of its routine monitoring program, the NAD found that Amyris provided a reasonable basis for some of their claims but recommended modifications or discontinuation of others.
One of the claims challenged by the NAD was the statement, “Clean ingredients and clean formulas – we ban over 2000 ingredients that are known to be toxic to you and the environment.” While Amyris provided sources for their banned ingredients, the NAD determined that it was unclear whether these ingredients were commonly associated with cosmetic products. Therefore, the NAD recommended modifying the claim to specify the banned ingredients typically used in cosmetics.
Amyris also made sustainability claims, including the statement, “keeping 2 million sharks every year safe from liver harvesting.” Amyris supported this claim by calculating the number of sharks saved based on data from 2012. However, the NAD found that there was not enough certainty regarding the number of sharks killed and the amount of shark liver oil used by the cosmetics industry to support this numerical figure. Therefore, the NAD recommended discontinuing or modifying the claim to avoid referring to a specific number. They noted that Amyris could still make a more general claim that sharks are not harvested for squalene found in Biossance products.
Regarding the claim, “Our 100% sugarcane-derived squalane is ethically and sustainably sourced,” the NAD determined that Amyris provided a reasonable basis for this claim based on a 2022 certification that required adherence to various sustainable farming and milling criteria. However, for the claim, “All of our ingredients are also ethically and sustainably sourced,” the NAD found that Amyris’ Supplier Code of Conduct demonstrated their commitment but did not provide evidence that all ingredients were ethically and sustainably sourced. Therefore, the NAD recommended discontinuing or modifying the claim to align with the evidence presented.
In response to the NAD’s recommendations, Amyris, under the Biossance brand, stated that they would comply with the NAD’s recommendations, although they disagreed with certain aspects of the decision.
