Why the score varies
This ingredient is made commercially by more than one route, and ISO 16128 scores the feedstock actually used. Without a supplier certificate of origin the value cannot be claimed.
| Route | Feedstock | NOI | Share | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fermentation (vinegar/bio-based) | sugar or ethanol fermentation | 1.00 | unknown, minority of bulk chemical supply | |
| Petrochemical (methanol carbonylation) | natural-gas-derived methanol + CO | 0.00 | majority of global industrial supply |
How we scored it
Where it comes from
Can be produced by fermenting sugars to vinegar-grade acetic acid, or industrially by carbonylating fossil-derived methanol with carbon monoxide. Cannot determine which route dominates cosmetic-grade supply specifically without a web lookup.
In plain English
A simple acid used to adjust pH, made either by fermenting sugars (as in vinegar) or synthetically from natural-gas-derived chemicals, depending on the supplier.
CosIng definition: Acetic Acid is the organic acid that conforms to the formula:
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Structure
acetic acid
References
- 1ISO 16128-1:2016 and ISO 16128-2:2017 — Guidelines on technical definitions and criteria for natural and organic cosmetic ingredients and products. ISO, Geneva.
- 2Acetic Acid. PubChem CID 176. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
- 3ACETIC ACID. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
- 4ACETIC ACID. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=ACETIC%20ACID