Terms of Use.

These Terms of Use (the “Terms”) are entered into by and between you (“You” or the “User”) and Ingredient Clarity Lab (“ICL”, “we”, “us” or “our”), a brand of Skin Match Technology Switzerland AG, a company incorporated under the laws of Switzerland. They govern Your access to and use of the website located at https://ingredientclarity.com and any related subdomains, applications, services, content, certifications, seals, and digital or printed materials provided by ICL (collectively, the “Website” and the “Services”), whether as a guest, a registered User, a certified Brand, or a business partner.

Please read these Terms carefully before You access or use the Website or any of the Services. By using the Website, by submitting any product or formulation for certification, by displaying any ICL certification seal, or by clicking to accept these Terms when this option is made available, You accept and agree to be bound by these Terms and by any documents incorporated herein by reference, including ICL’s Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy. If You do not agree to these Terms, You must not access or use the Website or the Services.

The Website and the Services are offered and available only to Users who are at least eighteen (18) years of age and, in the case of Brands and business partners, to natural persons authorised to bind the entity they represent. By using the Website or the Services, You represent and warrant that You meet these eligibility requirements and that You have the legal capacity to enter into these Terms.

For the purposes of these Terms, the following definitions apply:

• “Brand” means any natural or legal person that applies for, holds, or has held an ICL certification for one or more Products.
• “Product” means a single saleable unit identified by a valid EAN, UPC, or GTIN code. A single Formulation may correspond to multiple Products, such as different sizes, travel sizes, sample sizes, refill packs, or limited-edition packagings of the same Formulation.
• “Formulation” means the complete list of ingredients composing a Product as declared to ICL by the Brand.
• “Certification” means any rating, classification, score, or assessment issued by ICL in respect of a Product, including without limitation the Free-Check and any subsequent certification tiers.
• “Seal” means any graphic mark, logo, badge, or other visual identifier issued by ICL to indicate that a Product has obtained a Certification.
• “Partner” means any third party that has entered into a written agreement with ICL for the distribution, integration, or display of Certifications or Seals.
• “Affiliated Brand” means any brand owned, controlled, or operated by Skin Match Technology Switzerland AG (the legal entity behind ICL), including without limitation Inference Beauty.

We may revise and update these Terms from time to time at our sole discretion. All changes are effective immediately upon posting on the Website and apply to all subsequent access to and use of the Website and the Services. Material changes affecting Certifications, Seal licensing, fees, or Brand obligations will be communicated to active Brands by email or through the Brand dashboard with reasonable advance notice where practicable.

Your continued use of the Website or the Services following the posting of revised Terms constitutes Your acceptance of, and agreement to, the changes. You are expected to consult this page periodically to remain informed of any updates.

We reserve the right to withdraw, modify, suspend, or discontinue the Website, the Services, or any portion thereof at our sole discretion and without notice. We will not be liable if for any reason all or any part of the Website or the Services is unavailable at any time or for any period.

To access certain parts of the Website or to apply for a Certification, You may be required to register and provide certain information. It is a condition of Your use of the Website that all information You provide is and remains accurate, current, and complete, and that You update such information without delay if it changes.

If You are issued or choose a username, password, API key, or any other security credential, You must treat such credentials as confidential and not disclose them to any other person or entity. You agree to notify us immediately of any unauthorised access to or use of Your account or any other suspected breach of security. We have the right to disable any credential, whether chosen by You or provided by us, at any time, if in our reasonable opinion You have violated any provision of these Terms.

The Website, the Services, the Seals, the Certifications, and all of their respective contents, features, and functionality — including without limitation all text, scoring methodologies, databases, ingredient datasets, classification logic, software, designs, graphics, illustrations, photographs, videos, audio, layout, and the selection and arrangement thereof — are owned by ICL, its licensors, or its content providers, and are protected by Swiss and international copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret, and other intellectual property and proprietary rights laws.

Except as expressly authorised by these Terms or by a separate written agreement with ICL, You must not reproduce, distribute, modify, create derivative works of, publicly display, publicly perform, republish, download, store, transmit, scrape, mine, or otherwise exploit any portion of the Website, the Services, the Seals, or the Certifications. No right, title, or interest in or to the Website, the Services, the Seals, the Certifications, or any related content is transferred to You, and all rights not expressly granted are reserved by ICL.

Any unauthorised use of the Website, the Services, the Seals, or the Certifications terminates the limited permissions granted by these Terms and may constitute infringement of ICL’s intellectual property rights, exposing You to civil and criminal liability under applicable law.

“Ingredient Clarity Lab”, “ICL”, “Free-Check”, “Skin Match Technology”, the ICL logo, the Seals, and all related names, logos, taglines, designs, and slogans are trademarks of ICL or its affiliates. You must not use any such marks without the prior written permission of ICL, except as expressly permitted in connection with a valid Certification granted under these Terms. All other trademarks appearing on the Website are the property of their respective owners.

7.1 Scope of Assessment

ICL Certifications evaluate Products solely on the basis of the ingredients declared in their Formulation. ICL does not assess, simulate, or warrant any chemical reactions, interactions, transformations, degradation pathways, by-products, contaminants, or impurities that may arise during or after formulation, manufacturing, storage, transport, or use. Certifications are therefore limited to an ingredient-level evaluation and do not constitute a representation regarding the safety, efficacy, stability, finished-product chemistry, or regulatory compliance of any Product.

ICL’s methodology, scoring criteria, and rating thresholds are determined by ICL in its sole discretion and may be updated at any time. ICL is not a regulatory authority and Certifications do not replace any approvals, registrations, or notifications required under applicable cosmetic, consumer protection, or product safety law.

7.2 Eligibility

To be eligible for a Certification, a Brand must:

• Hold a valid and active EAN, UPC, or GTIN code for each Product submitted. A valid EAN, UPC, or GTIN is a mandatory prerequisite for Certification; Products without such a code will not be assessed.
• Submit a complete and accurate Formulation, including the full INCI list and any other information reasonably requested by ICL.
• Warrant that the Brand owns or otherwise has the right to submit the Formulation and to use the Product name, packaging artwork, and other materials provided to ICL.
• Comply with these Terms and with any additional certification, technical, or commercial conditions notified by ICL or set out in an applicable order, quotation, or partner agreement.

A single Certification is issued in respect of a unique Formulation. The same Certification automatically covers all Products sharing that identical Formulation — including, without limitation, full-size, travel-size, sample-size, refill, and limited-edition variants — irrespective of the number of EAN, UPC, or GTIN codes under which the Formulation is sold. Any reformulation, ingredient substitution, or material modification creates a new Formulation, which constitutes a new submission and requires a new Certification under these Terms.

7.3 Free-Check Certification

Where ICL issues a “Free-Check” Certification, the underlying assessment data, scores, and outputs (the “Free-Check Data”) belong exclusively to ICL. By submitting a Product for Free-Check assessment, the Brand grants ICL a perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free, sublicensable right to store, process, display, and otherwise use the Free-Check Data in connection with the operation, promotion, and improvement of the Services.

ICL and its Partners are entitled to display the Free-Check Seal in combination with the relevant Brand name and Product identifier (including the corresponding EAN, UPC, or GTIN) on the Website, in Partner platforms, and in promotional or informational materials, in each case for as long as the underlying Certification remains valid.

7.4 Seal Licence

Subject to a valid and active Certification and to ongoing compliance with these Terms, ICL grants the Brand a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-sublicensable, revocable licence to use the corresponding Seal in connection with the certified Product in the following media (the “Seal Licence”):

• Print materials, including brochures, leaflets, posters, magazines, point-of-sale displays, and other printed marketing collateral.
• Web and digital media, including the Brand’s websites, e-commerce platforms, social media, newsletters, banner advertising, and digital catalogues.
• Product packaging, including primary and secondary packaging of the certified Product.
• Retail environments, including in-store signage, shelf-talkers, and related point-of-sale communication.

All Seal artwork must be reproduced exactly as supplied by ICL. The Brand must not modify the colours, proportions, typography, or wording of any Seal, must not combine any Seal with other marks in a manner that creates a likelihood of confusion, and must not use any Seal in a manner that misrepresents the scope, level, or validity of the underlying Certification or that disparages or misrepresents ICL or Skin Match Technology Switzerland AG.

The Seal Licence is granted Formulation by Formulation. A Certification, and the corresponding right to display a Seal, applies only to the specific Formulation to which it has been issued, and extends to all Products sharing that Formulation; it does not extend to any other Formulation of the Brand.

7.5 Rights of Affiliated Brands

In addition to the rights granted to ICL and its Partners elsewhere in these Terms, the Brand expressly acknowledges and agrees that any Affiliated Brand — meaning any brand owned, controlled, or operated by Skin Match Technology Switzerland AG, including without limitation Inference Beauty — shall have the unrestricted right, exercisable at its sole discretion and on an unlimited basis, to display, reproduce, distribute, and otherwise communicate the Seal corresponding to the Brand’s Formulation or Product, in connection with that Formulation or Product, on (i) the Affiliated Brand’s own websites, applications, and digital or physical channels, (ii) the websites, applications, platforms, and digital or physical channels operated by the Affiliated Brand’s commercial clients (including the websites and channels of those clients’ own brands and products), and (iii) any related marketing, editorial, promotional, or informational materials, in each case for as long as the underlying Certification remains valid.

This right is granted automatically by virtue of the Brand’s submission of a Product or Formulation to ICL and acceptance of these Terms, and does not require any further consent from, notification to, or compensation payable to, the Brand. It applies whether or not the Affiliated Brand provides services to the Brand directly, and whether or not the Brand has a contractual relationship with the Affiliated Brand or any of its clients. The Brand undertakes not to interfere with, restrict, or otherwise impede the exercise of this right.

7.6 Pricing and Package Sizes

Unless otherwise agreed in writing, the fees payable in respect of a Certification cover the unique Formulation submitted, regardless of the number of package sizes or EAN, UPC, or GTIN codes under which that Formulation is sold by the Brand. All sizes and variants of the same Formulation are deemed included in the price of a single Certification. Fees, currencies, validity periods, and renewal terms are those specified in the applicable order, quotation, Partner agreement, or pricing page on the Website at the time of submission.

7.7 Brand Obligations and Reformulations

The Brand is solely responsible for the accuracy and completeness of all information submitted to ICL. The Brand must promptly notify ICL of any change to the Formulation, INCI list, claims, packaging, or other element that may affect the Certification, and must in any event:

• Submit any reformulation, ingredient substitution, or material modification of a certified Product to ICL for reassessment prior to placing the modified Product on the market under the existing Seal.
• Cease use of the relevant Seal immediately upon any reformulation pending the outcome of the reassessment.
• Maintain accurate records of all Products bearing a Seal and provide such records to ICL upon reasonable request.

Failure to notify ICL of a reformulation constitutes a material breach of these Terms and may result in immediate revocation of the affected Certification and of any other Certifications held by the Brand, in addition to any other remedies available to ICL.

7.8 Randomised Audits and Verification

ICL reserves the right, at its sole discretion and without prior notice, to carry out randomised checks and audits to verify the appropriate use of Certifications and Seals and the ongoing accuracy of Formulations declared by Brands. Such checks may include, without limitation, market sampling, review of Brand websites, packaging, and marketing materials, and requests for documentary evidence. The Brand undertakes to cooperate in good faith with any such audit and to provide all information reasonably required by ICL. ICL may request supporting documentation, certificates of analysis, supplier declarations, laboratory reports, or manufacturing records reasonably necessary to verify a Certification.

7.9 Reporting of Misuse

Any person may report a suspected misuse of a Certification, a Seal, or any other element of the Services by contacting ICL through the channels indicated on the Website. ICL will assess each report in good faith and may, where appropriate, contact the Brand concerned, request additional information, suspend or revoke the Certification, and take any further action it considers necessary. ICL is under no obligation to disclose the identity of a reporting party except where required by law.

7.10 Revocation, Penalties and Misuse

Without prejudice to any other rights or remedies available to ICL under applicable law or these Terms, ICL may suspend or revoke any or all Certifications held by a Brand, with immediate effect and without compensation, in any of the following cases:

• The Brand has submitted inaccurate, incomplete, or misleading information.
• The Brand has failed to notify ICL of a reformulation or other material change.
• The Brand uses, displays, or reproduces a Seal in breach of these Terms or beyond the scope of the Seal Licence.
• The Brand fails to pay any sum due to ICL when due.
• The Brand becomes insolvent or otherwise materially breaches these Terms.

Unauthorised use of a Seal — including but not limited to use after revocation, use on non-certified Products, use after a reformulation without reassessment, or use in altered form — constitutes intellectual property infringement and a material breach of these Terms. In such cases ICL may, without prejudice to any other remedy:

• Require the Brand to cease and desist from all such use immediately and to remove the Seal from all affected materials at the Brand’s own cost.
• Charge a penalty in an amount to be determined by ICL in accordance with the applicable price list, order, or partner agreement in force at the time of the breach, or, in the absence of such schedule, in an amount reflecting a reasonable pre-estimate of the harm caused.
• Apply an increased fee at the next renewal.
• Impose a temporary or, in case of serious or repeated breaches, life-long ban prohibiting the Brand and its affiliates from obtaining any future Certification.
• Initiate civil or criminal proceedings to enforce its intellectual property and contractual rights, including claims for damages, injunctive relief, and recovery of legal costs.

Upon revocation of a Certification, the Brand must, within the timeframe communicated by ICL, cease all use of the Seal in all media, withdraw or overlabel any packaging bearing the Seal, and remove all related online and printed references. Continued use of a Seal after revocation will be treated as wilful infringement.

You may use the Website and the Services only for lawful purposes and in accordance with these Terms. Without limitation, You agree not to use the Website or the Services:

• In any way that violates any applicable Swiss, European, or international law or regulation, including laws relating to consumer protection, advertising, intellectual property, data protection, and the export or import of data or software.
• To send, knowingly receive, upload, download, use, or reuse any material that does not comply with these Terms or that infringes the rights of any third party.
• To impersonate or attempt to impersonate ICL, an ICL employee, another User, a Brand, a Partner, or any other person or entity, including by using deceptive email addresses or identifiers.
• To use any robot, spider, scraper, or other automated means to access, monitor, or copy any part of the Website or the Services without our prior written consent, save for indexing by general-purpose public search engines.
• To introduce any virus, trojan horse, worm, logic bomb, or other malicious or technologically harmful material, or to attempt to gain unauthorised access to, interfere with, damage, or disrupt any part of the Website, the servers on which the Website is hosted, or any connected systems.
• To engage in any other conduct that restricts or inhibits the use of the Website or the Services by any other person, or that may harm ICL, its Users, its Brands, or its Partners, or expose any of them to liability.

The Website may from time to time include functionality allowing Users, Brands, or Partners to submit content, including without limitation Formulations, Product information, comments, feedback, suggestions, and other materials (collectively, “User Contributions”). All User Contributions must comply with these Terms and with all applicable laws.

You retain all rights You may have in Your User Contributions, but You grant ICL and its affiliates, Partners, licensees, successors, and assigns a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, sublicensable right to use, host, store, reproduce, modify (solely to the extent necessary for the operation of the Services), display, distribute, and otherwise exploit Your User Contributions for the purposes of operating, providing, promoting, and improving the Website, the Services, and any related products, including aggregate, anonymised, or statistical use.

You represent and warrant that You own or control all rights in Your User Contributions, that they are accurate and not misleading, and that they comply with these Terms and applicable law. You are solely responsible for the legality, reliability, accuracy, and appropriateness of Your User Contributions, and ICL has no responsibility or liability to any third party in respect of them.

We have the right, but not the obligation, to monitor the use of the Website and the Services and to remove or refuse any User Contribution, suspend any Certification, terminate or suspend Your access to the Website or the Services, disclose Your identity to any third party who claims that material submitted by You violates their rights, and take any other action we deem appropriate in our sole discretion, including referral to law enforcement or regulatory authorities.

The information presented on or through the Website is made available solely for general information and informational purposes. While ICL takes reasonable care in compiling and updating this information, we do not warrant the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any such information. Certifications are based on the ingredient information disclosed by the Brand at the time of assessment and do not constitute medical, dermatological, regulatory, or safety advice. Any reliance You place on the Website or the Services is strictly at Your own risk.

You may link to the home page of the Website provided You do so in a manner that is fair, lawful, and does not damage our reputation or take advantage of it, and does not suggest any form of association, approval, or endorsement on our part where none exists. You must not frame, embed, or otherwise integrate the Website or any portion of it within another website without our prior written consent. We reserve the right to withdraw linking permission without notice.

Where the Website contains links to third-party websites or resources, such links are provided for Your convenience only. We have no control over the contents of those websites or resources and accept no responsibility for them or for any loss or damage that may arise from Your use of them. Access to any third-party website is at Your own risk and subject to the terms and conditions of that website.

THE WEBSITE, THE SERVICES, THE CERTIFICATIONS, AND THE SEALS ARE PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS, WITHOUT ANY WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, STATUTORY, OR OTHERWISE. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, ICL DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, OR UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE OPERATION.

WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, ICL MAKES NO REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY THAT THE WEBSITE OR THE SERVICES WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS, THAT THE INFORMATION CONTAINED THEREIN IS ACCURATE OR UP TO DATE, OR THAT ANY CERTIFICATION OR SEAL CONSTITUTES A GUARANTEE OF SAFETY, EFFICACY, OR REGULATORY COMPLIANCE OF ANY PRODUCT. CERTIFICATIONS ARE EXPRESSLY LIMITED TO AN INGREDIENT-LEVEL ASSESSMENT AND DO NOT EXTEND TO CHEMICAL REACTIONS, INTERACTIONS, BY-PRODUCTS, IMPURITIES, OR ANY OTHER PHENOMENA OCCURRING DURING OR AFTER FORMULATION.

The foregoing disclaimers do not affect any warranties which cannot be excluded or limited under mandatory applicable law.

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, IN NO EVENT WILL ICL, ITS AFFILIATES, OR THEIR RESPECTIVE DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, LICENSORS, PARTNERS, OR SERVICE PROVIDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION LOSS OF PROFITS, LOSS OF REVENUE, LOSS OF BUSINESS, LOSS OF GOODWILL, LOSS OF DATA, OR LOSS OF ANTICIPATED SAVINGS, WHETHER ARISING IN CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), STRICT LIABILITY, OR OTHERWISE, AND EVEN IF ICL HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

WITHOUT PREJUDICE TO THE FOREGOING, AND TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, THE AGGREGATE LIABILITY OF ICL TO ANY BRAND OR USER UNDER OR IN CONNECTION WITH THESE TERMS, A CERTIFICATION, OR THE USE OF THE WEBSITE OR THE SERVICES SHALL NOT EXCEED THE FEES ACTUALLY PAID BY THAT BRAND OR USER TO ICL IN RESPECT OF THE PRODUCT OR SERVICE GIVING RISE TO THE CLAIM IN THE TWELVE (12) MONTHS PRECEDING THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO LIABILITY.

Nothing in these Terms shall exclude or limit any liability that cannot be excluded or limited under mandatory Swiss law, including liability for gross negligence or wilful misconduct.

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless ICL, its affiliates, licensors, and service providers, and their respective officers, directors, employees, contractors, agents, licensors, suppliers, successors, and assigns from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, judgments, awards, losses, costs, expenses, or fees (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising out of or relating to (i) Your breach of these Terms, (ii) Your User Contributions, (iii) Your use or misuse of the Website, the Services, the Certifications, or the Seals, (iv) any inaccurate or misleading information You provide to ICL, or (v) Your violation of any applicable law or any rights of a third party.

ICL processes personal data in accordance with the Swiss Federal Act on Data Protection (FADP) and, where applicable, the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Details of the categories of data processed, the purposes of processing, the legal bases, recipients, retention periods, and Your rights as a data subject are set out in our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy, which are incorporated into these Terms by reference.

These Terms apply for as long as You access or use the Website or the Services or hold any active Certification. ICL may terminate or suspend Your access to all or any part of the Website or the Services, and any Certification or Seal Licence, at any time, with or without cause, and with or without notice, in particular in cases of breach of these Terms. The provisions of these Terms which by their nature are intended to survive termination shall continue in full force and effect, including without limitation the provisions on intellectual property, confidentiality, indemnification, limitation of liability, governing law, and dispute resolution.

These Terms, the Website, the Services, the Certifications, and any non-contractual obligations arising out of or in connection with them shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the substantive laws of Switzerland, excluding its conflict-of-law rules and excluding the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG).

Subject to any mandatory provision of law granting exclusive jurisdiction to another forum, any dispute, controversy, or claim arising out of or in connection with these Terms, including their existence, validity, breach, or termination, shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the competent courts of the registered seat of Skin Match Technology Switzerland AG in Switzerland.

No waiver by ICL of any term or condition set forth in these Terms shall be deemed a further or continuing waiver of such term or condition or a waiver of any other term or condition, and any failure by ICL to assert a right or provision under these Terms shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision.

If any provision of these Terms is held by a court or other competent authority to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable, that provision shall be modified to the minimum extent necessary to make it valid, legal, and enforceable, or, if such modification is not possible, deemed deleted. The remaining provisions of these Terms shall continue in full force and effect.

These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy, the Cookie Policy, and any order, quotation, certification agreement, partner agreement, or schedule entered into between You and ICL, constitute the entire agreement between You and ICL with respect to the Website, the Services, the Certifications, and the Seals, and supersede all prior and contemporaneous understandings, agreements, representations, and warranties, whether written or oral, with respect to the same subject matter.

All questions, comments, requests for technical support, reports of misuse, and other communications relating to the Website, the Services, the Certifications, or the Seals should be directed to:

Skin Match Technology Switzerland AG
Ingredient Clarity Lab
Website: https://ingredientclarity.com
Imprint: https://ingredientclarity.com/imprint/

By using the Website or the Services, You acknowledge that You have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms.