FAQs
Why does the Allergy Label not appear on the retail packaging even though the product features on the list on the Allergy Label website?
Each business can choose where it wishes to use the Allergy Label mark. So for the products of an international brand, for example, the mark may not appear on the product packaging at all, but may be used in point of sale advertising, print media advertisements, TV ads or other promotion materials.
Why does the Allergy Label appear on the product, even though the product does not appear on the website?
For every approved product, a right of use for the Allergy Label mark is granted for a term of 2 years. In the absence of any changes that would impact on continuing approval, a 2-year continuation agreement is issued.If the business relinquishes the right to use the Allergy Label (if the product is discontinued, for example, or in the event of changes in the product composition), the business is entitled to continue selling products bearing the Allergy Label after expiry of the right of use for a further 4-6 months. If the mark still appears on the product after that time, this constitutes wrongful use of the mark, and the business will be fined accordingly.
How is use of the Allergy Label monitored?
A business entitled to use the mark on its products is required to send the Finnish Allergy, Skin and Asthma Federation advance copies of all its marketing and advertising material, product packaging and other promotion materials on which the Allergy Label will be used, for the federation’s approval. Allergy Label products may not be sold, advertised or marketed with unregulated, and often misleading, terms such as “allergy-friendly”, “allergy-tested”, “dermatologically tested”, etc. Marketing is monitored by spot checks, and proactive consumer feedback and reports help the Finnish Allergy, Skin and Asthma Federation in its monitoring role. All cases of communication that is misleading or incorrectly refers to the Allergy Label, or unauthorised marketing, are posted in the news section of the website, and may be disseminated on social media.
What are the benefits of the Allergy Label mark?
The Allergy Label helps consumers to choose products that have been tested and approved by experts, in the knowledge that their constituents and materials have been analysed in the light of the most up-to-date research findings. The products do not contain constituents or ingredients that are generally sensitising or irritating, and are therefore suitable for users with sensitive skin, fragrance sensitivity symptoms, or allergy or respiratory tract symptoms. The Allergy Label criteria help product manufacturers to bring onto the market products that are even more skin-friendly and will not cause irritation to the respiratory tract. All Allergy Label products are fragrance-free. In addition, textile products can be washed at high temperature (60°C), eliminating any dandruff or scurf that has rubbed off the skin, body oil residue on fabric, perspiration, etc.This applies particularly to bed textiles, where low-temperature washing cycles may leave sheets, pillows and blankets unhygienic.
Why are the Allergy Label products I buy sometimes not entirely odour-free?
Allergy Label products may not contain fragrances, and therefore the list of product ingredients must not include the words “scent”, “aroma” or “fragrance”. If the product clearly “smells” scented, this should be reported both to the Finnish Allergy and Asthma Federation at the address markkinointi@allergia.fi, and to the manufacturer. Under the terms of the Allergy Label right of use agreement, an investigation will be conducted in all such cases to exclude the possibility of a production defect during the manufacturing of the product.
But the raw materials of a product also have their own characteristic odour. The manufacturers of Allergy Label products select raw materials that are as odour-free and skin-friendly as possible. Some users will find that laundry detergents have the characteristic odour of “fragrances”, but every individual is different in this regard. There is no such characteristic odour in liquid laundry deodorants. So odour-free is not the same as fragrance-free. And we all experience smells differently.