The Cosmetic, Toiletry & Perfumery Association has released a sustainability handbook aimed at UK cosmetics manufacturers, formulators and brand owners, according to trade publication Scratch Magazine.

CTPA, founded in 1946, operates as the principal UK trade body for the personal-care sector, covering colour cosmetics, skincare, toiletries, fragrance, hair care and the raw-material and packaging suppliers serving them. Its guidance documents typically shape how member companies respond to Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) consultations on cosmetic-sector sustainability.

The handbook enters a particularly crowded UK compliance window. Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for packaging came into force on 1 January 2024, with 2025 fees calculated against 2024 tonnage reported to the scheme administrator. Modulated fees, which calibrate payments to recyclability performance, remain pending and will dictate how urgently formulators and procurement teams operationalise the new handbook.

What does the handbook cover?

Scratch's headline item does not include a chapter-level breakdown. CTPA guidance of this kind typically consolidates primary-pack recyclability, refill and reuse formats, Scope 1-3 carbon reporting aligned with SECR, supplier-engagement obligations under the Modern Slavery Act 2015, and post-Brexit dual-market compliance workflows. Medium and smaller manufacturers without dedicated sustainability departments form the core audience.

The handbook is also expected to bridge the regulatory gap left by the Windsor Framework. Products placed on the Northern Ireland market under the dual-regulatory settlement remain subject to EU Cosmetics Regulation 1223/2009, while goods sold exclusively in Great Britain answer to the UK regime administered by the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS).

Why does the timing matter now?

EPR fee modulation will penalise packaging formats that fail recyclability criteria across the 2026 reporting year. That makes the next 12 months the practical preparation window for formulators reviewing primary-pack decisions on tubes, jars, pumps and refill pods.

CTPA's membership includes most major UK production-volume brands, but a member-only handbook keeps working content behind a familiar association paywall pattern. Non-members will continue to rely on press summaries and CTPA public position papers for high-level direction.

How does this sit in the CTPA catalogue?

CTPA already publishes the "Cosmetic Product Safety in the UK" series, the "Manufacturers' Guide," and position papers on nanomaterials, CMR substances and product-stability testing. The new sustainability handbook fits that established catalogue rather than replacing any existing title.

Brand and compliance teams should expect an accompanying implementation toolkit — tonnage-reporting spreadsheets, supplier-questionnaire templates and a frequently-asked-questions document — distributed through member channels in the coming weeks.

What should formulators and compliance leads watch next?

Watch for Defra to confirm the long-awaited modulated EPR fee schedule for packaging. That figure will set the operational stakes for how rigorously the handbook's packaging chapter is applied to 2026 product launches and to reformulation briefs already in R&D pipelines.

Formulators reformulating ahead of the EU's Microplastics Restriction and the upcoming UK REACH Annexes should treat the CTPA handbook as a cross-reference rather than a standalone manual, layering its guidance onto existing safety-assessment dossiers.