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The Cosmetic, Toiletry and Perfumery Association (CTPA) has launched an Emergency Response Exchange to match manufacturers of products to help in the fight against COVID-19 with suppliers of critical ingredients and components within the UK.

The cosmetics and personal care industry has been instrumental in maximising production of products that are helping to reduce the spread of COVID-19, notably hand sanitisers, handwashes and soaps.

However, record demand for these essential products has created supply shortages of the ingredients and other components needed to make them.

The Association has created the new CTPA Emergency Response Exchange (CERE) to help improve the supply of these products, which may be cosmetics or biocides, as well as hand creams to help unwanted effects on the skin from frequent hand washing.

CERE connects suppliers and producers within the UK cosmetics industry and other sectors, such as distillers.

CERE can also be used to help the NHS and other relevant care services in the UK who urgently need Personal Protection Equipment (PPE), where companies have surplus stocks in business premises that are currently closed or not fully operating.

CERE is a simple three-step online process:

• STEP 1 – Gather contact information and the manufacturing needs and offers of supply
• STEP 2 – Match relevant companies with different manufacturing or supply needs
• STEP 3 – Companies with matched needs can then contact each other

If you have manufacturing capacity but need ingredients, components or supporting services, or if you are a supplier of ingredients, components or supporting services needed to manufacture and distribute hand hygiene products or PPE, CERE can make the match.

Additionally, if local Councils, care homes or other care sectors need any of these products for their staff, please visit CERE at: https://www.ctpa.org.uk/cere

Dr Emma Meredith, Director-General of the CTPA, commented:

“These are unparalleled times and I am acutely aware that the NHS, carers and many companies across all business sectors are facing enormous challenges while tackling COVID-19.

The cosmetics industry is playing its part by stepping up the production of hand hygiene products, in particular hand sanitisers and gels.

The new CTPA Emergency Response Exchange will help boost production of these important products as well as facilitating the supply of badly needed PPE for those in the front line of this unprecedented health emergency.”

The CERE is based on an initiative recently launched by the Canadian association, Cosmetics Alliance Canada, and CTPA thanks the Alliance for sharing the model so it can be replicated for the UK.

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For more information, visit:

CTPA: COVID-19 Advice for the Cosmetics Industry explains the laws covering hand sanitisers/gels
CTPA urges against using homemade hand-sanitisers
We can all do something to tackle Coronavirus

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