CertClean

What CertClean does

CertClean Inc. is a Toronto-based, independently operated third-party certification body focused on the clean beauty and personal care segment in North America. The company screens cosmetic and personal care formulations — including skincare, color cosmetics, deodorants, soaps, hair products, and bath items — for carcinogens, hormonal disruptors, reproductive and neurological toxicants, and hundreds of other chemicals of concern, using a proprietary health-first standards framework that evolves with the latest science and regulation. Products meeting the standards receive the CertClean seal, which certified brands license for use on packaging, websites, and marketing materials.

The platform is delivered through a self-service online portal where brands submit formulations, pay assessment fees, and receive certification decisions; certified products then pay recurring licensing fees to maintain seal usage, producing a hybrid one-time-plus-annuity revenue model. CertClean monetizes via product assessment fees and ongoing seal licensing, supported by marketing channels including the Clean Beauty Awards program, blog content, email newsletters, and social media. The company operates with a horizontal segmentation approach across beauty and personal care verticals, has no disclosed institutional funding or parent company, and positions itself against the regulatory gap in which "natural" and "organic" labels remain largely unregulated. As of available data, CertClean has certified over 800 products from 50+ brands across the US and Canada.

Name

CertClean

Legal name

CertClean Inc.

Website

https://certclean.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

CertClean Inc. is a Toronto-based independent third-party certification body that screens cosmetic and personal care products for carcinogens, hormonal disruptors, and chemicals of concern, licensing the CertClean seal to brands across North America.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Beauty & Personal Care Certification Services

SIC

Soap, Detergents, Cleang Preparations, Perfumes, Cosmetics (2840)

akta.pro primary industry

Certification Program Administration & Scheme Management (Standard Owners) (AFALACAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Dermocosmetics & Medical-Grade Skincare (CRABAAAF)

Keywords

• Clean beauty certification
• Ingredient safety screening
• Third-party certification
• Cosmetic product certification
• Personal care certification

Headquarters

HQ city

Toronto

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Product Certification Assessment: Brands pay an assessment fee to submit products and ingredients through CertClean's secure portal for review against health-first standards. Products that meet standards earn the CertClean seal.
2. Certification Licensing: Certified products pay a licensing fee to use the CertClean seal on packaging, websites, and marketing materials. This generates recurring revenue from certified brands as they maintain their certification status.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

CertClean provides third-party certification services for cosmetics and personal care products, screening product formulations against proprietary health-first standards for carcinogens, hormonal disruptors, and hundreds of chemicals of concern. Brands submit products through a secure online portal for ingredient review, and products that meet the standards earn the CertClean seal, which they license for use on packaging, websites, and marketing materials. The company also runs the Clean Beauty Awards program to recognize and promote top-performing certified products.

Product overview

CertClean operates as a certification platform offering a single core service: third-party certification for clean beauty and personal care products. The CertClean Certification service is a unified platform where brands submit product formulations through a secure portal, undergo ingredient review against health-first standards, and upon approval receive licensing to display the CertClean seal. As a complementary initiative, the company runs the Clean Beauty Awards to recognize and promote top-performing certified products. Together, these offerings position CertClean as North America's leading clean beauty certification body, with over 800 products certified from 50+ brands.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• CertClean Certification Third-party clean beauty certification service that assesses cosmetics and personal care products against proprietary health-first standards, screening for carcinogens, hormonal disruptors, and hundreds of chemicals of concern. Brands submit product formulations through a secure portal for review; products that meet the standards earn the CertClean seal and a licensing agreement to display the seal on packaging, websites, and marketing materials.

Quantifiable outcome

• 800+ products certified across North America
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• ECOCERT: ECOCERT is a France-based certification body specializing in organic and natural cosmetics with strong recognition among European and global beauty brands. It is a broader incumbent competing with CertClean, particularly for international brands seeking organic/natural-leaning certifications.
• NATRUE: NATRUE is an international non-profit that sets the global standard for natural and organic cosmetics certification. It is a broader incumbent in the certified clean beauty space, particularly across Europe.
• USDA Organic: USDA Organic is the United States Department of Agriculture's organic certification program, applicable to some personal care products. While primarily food-focused, it is a broader incumbent in the certification landscape and an alternative trust signal for 'clean' beauty brands.
• COSMOS-standard: COSMOS-standard is the European harmonized standard for organic and natural cosmetics administered across multiple European certification bodies. It is a broader incumbent in the clean beauty certification space competing for global brand certifications.

Emerging players

• Think Dirty: Think Dirty is a consumer-facing app and ingredient transparency platform that rates personal care products. It is an emerging player in the clean beauty transparency space, providing an alternative third-party trust signal that competes with certifications like CertClean for consumer attention.
• Credo Clean Standard: Credo Beauty, a North American clean beauty retailer, operates its own Clean Standard that brands must meet to be sold at Credo. It is an emerging retailer-led standard that competes with third-party certifications like CertClean for brand adoption and retailer acceptance.
• Sephora Clean at Sephora: Sephora's Clean at Sephora program is a retailer-led ingredient standard classifying products as 'clean' based on a formulated excluded list. As a major North American beauty retailer, it represents significant competitive pressure for independent third-party certifications like CertClean.

Direct peers

• EWG Verified: EWG Verified is the Environmental Working Group's product certification mark for cosmetics and personal care products that avoid ingredients on EWG's restricted list. It directly competes with CertClean for brand certification wallets in North America.
• MADE SAFE: MADE SAFE is a non-toxic certification program that screens personal care and household products for ingredients known or suspected to harm human health. It is the closest direct competitor to CertClean in the health-first clean beauty certification space.

Others

• Leaping Bunny: Leaping Bunny is the gold-standard cruelty-free certification for cosmetics and personal care products. While focused on animal testing rather than ingredient safety, it is commonly co-displayed with clean beauty certifications and represents an adjacent standards-based certification model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/certclean

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CertClean