A sunscreen brand war exposed a regulatory gap

Copyright © HT Digital Streams Limit all rights reserved. Opinion Mint Editors 2 Min Read 21 Apr 2025, 07:30 AM IST Effective regulation, with clear standards and enforcement, would help them occupy the shelf and thought space worldwide. (AFP) Summary Honasa’s Mamaarth and Hindustan Unilever Ltd (their) Lakme ended hostilities, but showed how acute India needed for the efficiency -oriented regulatory standards for such products. Tighter regulation will strengthen Indian brands. Honasa and Hindustan Unilever Ltd (Hul), under the protection of the court, resolved their dispute over an advertisement through their lakme that drove the effectiveness of Honasa’s Mama-Aarde Solar to provide real protection. They are changing his ads and MamArth is removing its social media posts that are lakme. Peace can or is not durable, but the sun continues to burn, and – just if global warming is not bad enough, our skin remains vulnerable to its ultraviolet rays. These are of two types: UV rays of type A reach deep under our skin, while the shorter wavelength B variety rays do not go too deep, but leave the skin red and a brown brown that fears a lot. Both types have the potential to cause skin cancer, although Indian skin colors usually have enough pigment to provide protection. Also read: India must take on a policy framework for early cancerous detection type A -rays accelerate the aging of our skin. Furthermore, some types of medication are the skin of its natural protection against UV rays, making it essential to use special lotions. Whether the brand wars resume or not, it is important to consumers as the sunscreen lotion on which they offer a real shield or not. For that, we cannot rely on claims and counter-claims. We need effective regulation. Unfortunately, cosmetics are regulated in India. India has since 1940 a law that regulates cosmetics, the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, with its rules updated in 2020. However, its focus was to ensure that the sale of cosmetics does not contain harmful chemicals and that their testing does not suffer animals, rather than their performance. In addition, the regulatory approach is schizophrenic. At the central and state level, the agency is the Drugs Standard Control Organization (DSCO). But unlike in the case of drugs, the cosmetics standards are set by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). Also read: Do you wear the right sunscreen? This contrasts with the US, where the food and drug administration controls both drugs and cosmetics, other than food products. Sunscreen drugs fall between the cracks in India, as neither the central DSCO nor the bis has put any beam for these products. The bis standard determines what kind of testing should be done: ‘In vivo’, that is, performed on a lively being. ‘In vitro’ means in a laboratory, but laboratory testing is not good enough for a product that can act differently if it is actually used. Living tests therefore make sense. However, sunscreen drugs are susceptible to photo stability, which means they can break down under sunlight. They can also underperform if they are exposed to moisture. What we do not have is a standard that lays down the percentage of UV rays to be blocked for specified time intervals after application. If we had set such a beam, the war war between sunscreen marks would have quoted specific measures. Also read: Fail Startups really India? Let’s look at the big picture recently, a Union Minister mocked Startups who do not venture into hard technology. India’s initial success in cosmetics, wellness products and their quick delivery are welcome for the value and work created. Initially, Indian brands can go to the jackets of the diaspora worldwide and then more commonly. Effective regulation, with clear standards and enforcement, would help them occupy the shelf and line of thought worldwide. The government must tighten its regulatory apparatus for cosmetics to protect consumers, which should not be surprised as brands of pottehots. The other purpose should be to promote global successes. Catch all the business news, market news, news reports and latest news updates on Live Mint. Download the Mint News app to get daily market updates. More Topics #MamaArth IPO #hul Mint Specials