What Is CLP? A Simple Guide For UK Home Fragrance Makers

If you make candles, wax melts, room sprays, diffusers or any other home fragrance product, you will hear people talk about CLP a lot. It sounds technical, but at its core, CLP is simply the rulebook that decides how hazardous products are classified and how the warnings appear on your labels.

This guide walks through what CLP actually is, how it works and where it overlaps with cosmetics, without the legal waffle.

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What CLP actually means

CLP stands for Classification, Labelling and Packaging.

It is the system used in both the EU and Great Britain to decide how chemicals are classified and how their hazards must be shown on the label. After the UK left the EU, Great Britain kept its own version of CLP so that our system still lines up with the global GHS rules.

CLP exists to:

• identify hazardous chemicals and mixtures
• make hazard labels clear and consistent
• protect customers, makers and the environment
• reduce accidents involving dangerous substances

If a product contains something that can irritate skin, harm aquatic life or cause an allergic reaction, CLP is what decides how that information has to be shown.

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1. Classification

Classification is the part that looks at the science behind a substance or mixture. It decides:

• what hazards it has
• how strong those hazards are
• how it behaves in use
• whether it can harm people or the environment

From this you get familiar things like:

• skin irritation
• eye irritation
• sensitisation (allergic reactions)
• aquatic toxicity
• flammability

Once the hazards are known and classified, the rest of CLP follows on from that decision.

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2. Labelling

The label is how you communicate those hazards clearly to the person using the product.

A proper CLP label for a hazardous mixture will usually include:

• product identifier
• signal word (Warning or Danger)
• hazard statements
• precautionary statements
• pictograms where required
• allergenic ingredients above the trigger level
• supplier name, address and contact details

The aim is simple. A customer should be able to pick up your product and understand at a glance:

• what the hazard is
• how to use the product safely
• what to avoid
• what to do if something goes wrong

If a product is classified as hazardous, a CLP label is not a nice extra. It is a legal requirement.

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3. Packaging

CLP also covers elements of packaging for hazardous products.

Depending on the hazards and how the product is supplied, packaging may need things like:

• child resistant closures
• tactile warnings of danger on the container
• containers that are compatible with the contents
• secure caps and closures that do not leak in normal use

This is to make sure the product is not only labelled correctly but also stored and handled safely, especially in homes with children or vulnerable adults.

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Where CLP fits for home fragrance

If you sell home fragrance products in the UK, CLP is highly relevant to you. This includes:

• candles
• wax melts
• reed diffusers
• plug in and electric diffusers
• room sprays and mists
• car air fresheners
• vacuum discs, carpet powders and similar products

Any time a product is classified as hazardous in the form it is sold, CLP tells you what needs to appear on the label. That is true whether you are a large company or a small maker selling at markets and on Shopify.

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Where CLP and cosmetics overlap

This is the part that confuses a lot of makers.

Cosmetics follow their own law under the UK Cosmetics Regulation. Anything designed to be applied to the skin, hair, lips or around the eyes sits under cosmetic rules, not CLP, for things like allergens and skin safety.

However, there is a small crossover.

CLP can still apply to the physical hazards of a finished cosmetic, if those hazards are present in the product as supplied. A common example is flammability.

• High alcohol perfumes and body sprays can be flammable.
• Cosmetics law does not deal with flammability.
• CLP can therefore be used for that flammable hazard, while the rest of the label follows cosmetic rules.

There is also CLP to consider for the raw materials you store and sell. If you supply fragrance oils, essential oils or solvent blends to other businesses, those products need CLP as hazardous mixtures, even if the final cosmetic or home fragrance made from them uses a different labelling system.

The simple way to think about it is this:

• Cosmetics use cosmetic regulation for skin use and ingredients lists.
• Home fragrance products use CLP when they are classified as hazardous.
• CLP may still appear on a cosmetic label if the finished product has a physical hazard such as flammability.

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Why makers should care about CLP

CLP can feel heavy at first, but it is there to protect both you and your customers.

Following it correctly helps you:

• keep customers safe when they use your products
• stay on the right side of trading standards and local authorities
• avoid misleading or incomplete labels
• build trust in your brand as a professional supplier

It also separates you from sellers who guess their labels from random Pinterest posts.

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Final thoughts

CLP might sound like pure regulatory pain, but once you understand the basics it becomes much more manageable.

Remember:

• Classification decides the hazards.
• Labelling communicates those hazards clearly.
• Packaging supports safe handling and storage.
• Home fragrance uses CLP when the product is hazardous as supplied.
• Cosmetics use cosmetic law, with CLP stepping in only for physical hazards like flammability.

If you are ever unsure how CLP applies to your product or what your label should show, get a second opinion before you print. It is far easier to fix wording on a proof than recall a batch once it is on the shelves.