Officina Naturae

Officina Naturae is an Italian natural cosmetics and household-cleaning company based in Rimini, on Italy's Adriatic coast. It was founded by Silvia Carlini and Pierluca Urbate [4], who built the business around what they call a "bio-sustainable" philosophy — pairing ecological production with everyday product effectiveness. Sources differ on the starting date: the company's establishment is recorded as 2004 [5], while the founders date the launch of actual operations, from a garage, to 2005 [3]. Both point to the same origin, seen from two different milestones.

The company remains independent and founder-led, manufacturing most of its range in-house and shipping worldwide. Its lines span solid cosmetics, hair and body care, oral care, sun protection, baby products and household detergents, all made in Italy and formulated as vegan.

By the company's own account, Silvia and Pierluca joined a Solidarity Purchase Group (Gruppo di Acquisto Solidale) in Rimini in 2003, looking for natural household and cosmetic products. Finding nothing that met their standards for both ecology and effectiveness, they reached a simple conclusion: "if we don't find the ideal products, we'll make them" [3]. They began from a garage, where Pierluca worked out several household uses for citric acid as an eco-friendly cleaning agent. Editorial profiles give the founders' full names as Silvia Carlini and Pierluca Urbate [4][5]; the company's own pages refer to them more informally as Silvia and Luca.

The first cosmetic line followed in 2006, built around Chiuri butter sourced from the Chepang people on the India–Nepal border. In 2010 the company introduced its SOLARA line, using bag-in-box packaging and surfactants derived from Italian Brassica and olive oil. A 2011 move to a renovated 1970s facility added photovoltaic panels and heat-pump heating. In 2014 it launched BIRICCO, a line for babies and children, and began using bioplastic (Green PE) for packaging. The CO.SO. solid-cosmetics range — a plastic-free format — debuted in 2019. During 2020 the company added sanitizing products in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Officina Naturae positions itself as a natural, organic brand built on ethical and ecological conduct. The company describes ethical-ecologist behaviour and product effectiveness as "the core of our daily job," and says its formulas rely on plant- or mineral-derived ingredients while excluding petrochemical, animal-derived and artificial substances. It prioritises Italian raw materials "from controlled organic farming" [5] and emphasises zero-kilometre sourcing to cut transport emissions. All formulations are described as vegan and made in Italy.

The brand owns an in-house laboratory where it develops and produces much of its range, and reports building several of its cosmetic lines through partnerships with universities. One eco-retailer profile describes it as the only Italian company using bioplastics — derived from sustainably grown sugar cane — for its packaging [5]. Signature products include the CO.SO. solid cosmetics line and the SOLARA concentrated cleaners, with a sun-care line, onSUN, released for 2026.

Certification is documented unevenly. Ecosplendo records ICEA (organic) certification for the Solara cleaners and organically certified household lines [5], while the GreenHive sustainability database states the brand holds no sustainable certifications [4] — a gap that likely reflects an incomplete record rather than a withdrawn certification.

In 2019 the CO.SO. line was named among the "Green Heroes" by the Kyoto Club, an Italian environmental association [3]. The following year, the Purifying Solid Face Cleanser received a SANA award, tied to Italy's organic and natural-products trade fair [3].

Officina Naturae is active. Its most recent visible activity is the 2026 onSUN sun-care line announced on its website [1]. The company continues to operate from Rimini as an independent, founder-led business, shipping worldwide and appearing regularly at trade fairs including Cosmoprof and SANA.