Governance & Oversight

Independence, integrity, and accountability. How HumanSafe™ maintains scientific rigor while managing conflicts of interest, brand relationships, and commercial pressures.

Foundational Principle: Scores are determined by peer-reviewed evidence, documentation quality, and published methodology—not by payment, partnerships, or marketing pressure.

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Structure

Governance Structure

HumanSafe™ operates under a separation-of-functions model to reduce bias and maintain scoring integrity. Scientific evaluation remains independent from business operations.

Scientific Review Function

Responsible for evaluation integrity

  • Evaluates ingredients against published evidence
  • Applies context-dependent scoring rules
  • Documents all assumptions and data limitations
  • Responds to scientific challenges with evidence
  • Subject to Advisory Board oversight

Platform & Operations

Handles business functions

  • Manages brand submissions and onboarding
  • Ensures public disclosure of all relationships
  • Maintains version control and change logs
  • Handles payment processing (firewall from scoring)
  • Publishes methodology documentation
Firewall Policy: Payment information and business relationships are not shared with the scientific review team until after initial scores are calculated. This prevents commercial considerations from influencing evaluation outcomes.
External Oversight

Advisory Board & Independent Review

HumanSafe™ maintains an Advisory Board of independent experts who review methodology, audit controversial evaluations, and ensure scientific rigor without commercial conflicts of interest.

Advisory Board Responsibilities

  • Review and approve methodology updates for scientific validity
  • Audit high-stakes or publicly contested evaluations
  • Provide independent oversight of affiliated brand scores
  • Recommend corrections when new evidence emerges
  • Ensure conflict-of-interest policies are followed
  • Publish annual transparency report

Board Member Criteria

Required Qualifications

  • PhD-level or equivalent professional credentials
  • Active research or clinical practice background
  • No financial ties to brands under evaluation
  • Expertise in relevant domains (toxicology, dermatology, environmental science, consumer advocacy)

Board Structure

  • 5-7 members with diverse expertise
  • 3-year terms with staggered rotation
  • Quarterly methodology review meetings
  • Ad-hoc audit convening for contested scores
Current Status (Q1 2026): Advisory Board is in active formation. Initial pilot evaluations were conducted by HumanSafe™. All pilot scores will be independently audited by the Advisory Board once fully constituted (target: Q2 2026). Any material score changes resulting from board review will be published with detailed explanations.
Independence

Independence & Conflict of Interest Policy

HumanSafe™ operates under published conflict-of-interest policies designed to preserve analytical independence. Our methodology, not brand relationships or payment, determines scores.

✓ What We Allow

  • Flat fees for verification services (same for all brands regardless of score)
  • Badge licensing fees (contingent on transparency standards, not score level)
  • Public brand responses to scores (published alongside evaluation)
  • Score corrections when verifiable errors or new evidence emerges
  • Educational partnerships that don't influence scoring

✗ What We Prohibit

  • Payment for specific score outcomes
  • Pre-publication score review or approval by brands
  • Advertising revenue from evaluated brands
  • Equity stakes in brands under evaluation
  • Consulting fees from brands seeking favorable assessment
Transparency

Brand Relationship Disclosure

Full transparency about HumanSafe™'s commercial relationships and operational structure:

⚠️ Required Disclosure: EMRA LLC Relationship

HumanSafe™ is operated by EMRA LLC, which also owns and operates the following brands:

  • CA Perfume: Affordable luxury perfume oils and fragrance archive
  • Airlux: Luxury cold air diffusion scent systems
  • Other EMRA LLC divisions: Fragrance formulation and manufacturing services

Conflict Management Protocol: All EMRA LLC brand products will be evaluated using the same methodology as third-party brands. To ensure independence:

  • EMRA LLC products will be subjected to mandatory Advisory Board audit before publication
  • Scores will be clearly labeled as "Affiliated Brand" in all public displays
  • Complete formulation data and scoring rationale will be published for verification
  • Any score adjustments recommended by the Advisory Board will be implemented and documented

If this conflict structure undermines trust in HumanSafe™'s independence, we accept that consequence. Transparency requires honest disclosure, even when it's uncomfortable.

Business Model

Revenue Model & Financial Independence

HumanSafe™'s revenue model is designed to minimize conflicts of interest while ensuring sustainability:

Primary Revenue

  • Verification Fees: Flat-rate charges for product assessment ($2,500 - custom)
  • Badge Licensing: Annual fees for verified brands to display HumanSafe™ badges
  • Database Access: API access fees for developers and researchers (future)

What We Don't Do

  • No advertising revenue from evaluated brands
  • No affiliate commissions or product sales
  • No pay-for-placement in search results
  • No premium tiers that bias score visibility
Pricing Equality: Verification fees are based on product count only—not brand size, industry influence, or score outcomes. A startup pays the same per-product rate as a multinational corporation.
Accountability

Score Appeals & Challenge Process

Brands and researchers can challenge scores when they believe errors exist or new evidence warrants re-evaluation. Appeals are handled through a transparent, evidence-based process:

Valid Grounds for Appeal

  • Factual errors: Incorrect ingredient identification, concentration, or application type
  • Methodology misapplication: Wrong context factors or weighting applied
  • New evidence: Peer-reviewed studies published after original assessment
  • Data quality issues: Better data sources available that were not considered

Appeal Process

  1. Brand submits written appeal with supporting evidence
  2. HumanSafe™ reviews submission within 14 business days
  3. If appeal has merit, Advisory Board conducts independent audit
  4. Score adjustment (if warranted) is published with detailed explanation
  5. All appeals and outcomes are logged in public transparency report
Not Valid Appeals: "We disagree with the score," "Our competitors got better scores," or "This will hurt our sales" are not valid grounds for appeal. Evidence-based challenges only.
Version Control

Methodology Updates & Version Control

As science evolves, our methodology evolves. All updates are documented transparently with version control and backward compatibility policies.

Update Protocol

  • All methodology changes require Advisory Board approval
  • Major updates (v2.0, v3.0) trigger re-assessment offers at 50% cost
  • Minor updates (v2.1, v2.2) documented but don't invalidate existing scores
  • Complete changelog published with every version
  • Brands notified 30 days before major methodology changes take effect

See our Methodology page for current version and complete changelog.

Honest Acknowledgment

Limitations & Accountability

No governance structure is perfect. Here are the honest limitations of our current system:

What We Can't Guarantee

  • Absolute independence (EMRA LLC relationship creates inherent conflict)
  • Complete data (proprietary formulas limit assessment accuracy)
  • Perfect methodology (science evolves, blind spots exist)
  • Zero errors (humans assess, humans make mistakes)

What We Commit To

  • Transparent disclosure of all conflicts and limitations
  • External oversight through independent Advisory Board
  • Public documentation of methodology and changes
  • Evidence-based corrections when errors are identified
Accountability Mechanism: If you believe HumanSafe™ has compromised independence or violated stated policies, document your concern and submit it to the Advisory Board (contact information will be published once board is constituted). All complaints will be reviewed and responses published in annual transparency reports.

Learn More

Understand how governance supports our mission and methodology.

📖 Our Mission

The philosophical framework and multi-stakeholder balance that guides HumanSafe™.

Read Our Mission

🔬 Methodology

The scientific approach, scoring system, and transparent methodology documentation.

View Methodology

✓ Verification Process

How brands get verified and what the process looks like from application to publication.

See the Process

Version 1.0 | January 2026 | Document ID: HSGOV-2026-01