American products "disabled for Europe"

hunnymonster said:
More a case of not having mutually-recognised testing regimes.
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This would neatly get around the problem. I can see that obtaining EU certification is unlikely to be an attractive option for US soapmakers when their home market is so large to begin with.

While I'm sure that they do ban non-US products, I'm unaware of a shaving soap that it's happened to.
 
The point is that it's not just the EU, or the US - all trade blocs do it for various items for their own reasons - as anyone who has ever tried to run the gauntlet of AQIS in Australia will know - they even have internal quarantine in Australia... so you can't take an apple from one state to another - not even for personal use...
 
Today I shall be using mostly 3p soap from Italy with a tad ( non metric Scots measurement ) of Kiss my Face cream from U.S.A. Tomorrow I may try my Mama Bear Brute. My buying options remain sufficient for my needs and I hope others are as happy with their shaves as I trust to be with mine.

JohnnyO. /
 
pjgh said:
It doesn't. ?
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Right, I misunderstood what you were saying - or rather, read something into it that you had not said.

I wonder if this really makes much difference to shipping finished products from US to Europe? I suppose it depends on how readily available the ingredients are in Slovenia.
 
At the end of the day its annoying, but it is what it is. You would love to think that the EU and US could get together and standardise the "tests", but given all the wars, disease and what-not, I suspect its not going to be high up anyone's agenda.

At the end of the day, suck as it might, it does allow EU "artisans" a market to exploit. If this has helped the likes of OSP to evolve and Wickhams to make a return, I guess its not all bad.
 
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Tis is what I have encountered so far:

US does not block non US products. They have no laws regarding cosmetic safety, so anything can be used there, including our soap. However, the postage often puts a lot of people off.

it is illegal to sell products that do not conform to EU law (even if you're not in the EU while selling them) so really, these US sellers should not sell to those in the EU. It is an imprisonable offence! Not that we would care that much anyway, I don't think anyone would snitch.

The testing procedure is done by a chartered chemist. The EU states that there are some substances which can't be used or can only be used in certain strengths or less. I have found this very restrictive on my soap making flow of ideas. Some of my recipes haven't made it, and one of those in particular has been loved by all who tested it.

It is excessive, but it does stop those that would unknowingly put others at risk. However, A friend of mine from another company has attended markets where other soap sellers didn't have a clue they even needed to abide by EU testing law.

Food for thought, as nobody really seems to be doing much to catch those that operate without certification.

With regards
 
There was a recent Internet article regarding the differences between Euro chicken eggs and those in the USA and how they are processed differently. Very interesting with both sides having good & bad points. However, no one asked the hens a layin'!! :p
 
Bogeyman said:
There was a recent Internet article regarding the differences between Euro chicken eggs and those in the USA and how they are processed differently. Very interesting with both sides having good & bad points. However, no one asked the hens a layin'!! :p
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Absolutely. European consumer law primarily revolves around upstream protection i.e. prevention, whilst US law falls towards downstream i.e. consequences if you mess up

There are in fact cosmetic regulations in the US. There is a list of banned harmful ingredients maintained by the FDA, albeit a shorter list than that in Europe

I would like to clarify one point. US soap makers and retailers are not breaking the law selling their products to EU consumers. There activities are compatible with US law and any extradition attempt would fall at the first hurdle on that basis. Thankfully rather than wasting time and money chasing errant soap makers, the UK authorities target products which are intrinsically dangerous such as skin whitening creams
 
Whatever happened to people being able to make an informed decision on what they may feel is an acceptable risk to their own health or a decision on principle whether to use products from the USA or from within the EU. Whether it's morally questionable to purchase US made soaps because the makers have not had to jump through the same hoops and go through the same expense as the European manufacturers or not is a decision I should be able to make by myself and nobody else. These products are being used on a huge scale in the USA so it's not as if we're taking a leap into the dark when we use them. Although I wonder why I bother because in the past the mark up on US products were such that it was still cheaper on occasion whilst absorbing the customs and handling fee to buy direct which also ensured a better choice of product.
Now about getting alcohol splashes shipped internationally...............
 
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