Natural & Organic Certifications
With natural sections popping up in virtually every retail store these days, it seems that consumers are more interested than ever in buying natural care products to maximize their well-being. But in the smoke and mirror world of today’s mainstream marketing, how do we know what ‘Natural’ really means.
An independent agency, Yankalovich, polled female consumers in America and discovered these startling results:
- 65% think that if a product is labeled ‘NATURAL’, it must be at least 95% natural.
- 78% believe that natural claims are REGULATED, while there is NO regulation in the U.S. today.
- 97% think that natural claims SHOULD be regulated.
- 83% believe that there should be one meaning for the word ‘NATURAL’ in marketing.
- 86% want a SYMBOL that CERTIFIES the natural claim.
- 86% don’t know about the risks of PARABENS, PABAs, FRAGRANCES and other synthetic toxins that are currently being used in most skin care products today.
- 73% think that stores do not do a good job educating them.
The most startling discovery of all was when consumers were told that a product labeled ‘natural’ was only 50% NATURAL , the interest in purchasing that product plummeted.
Currently a product can claim ‘natural’ if it is as little as 1% natural or even has just 1 natural ingredient altogether. So what are you to do? How do you find the most natural products available for your personal care? The most important step you can take is to purchase only products that are CERTIFIED natural by an independent certifying body such as Cosmebio’s ECOCERT, the most stringent natural and organic certification in the world. Search out companies that provide FULL DISCLOSURE on ALL ingredients used in their products. Stay away from any company that uses synthetic preservatives or other toxins in their skin care products.
Just remember, small amounts of toxins over a long period of use can add up to BIG health concerns in the future. For a list of the most popular toxins used in skin care products and to find out more about Cosmebio’s ECOCERT certification, go to www.luvalla.com.
The same thing goes for the term "Organic". Organic labels now come in varying types (referenced by organic.org/home/faq#faq2):
• 100% Organic: Made with 100% organic ingredients
• Organic: Made with at least 95% organic ingredients
• Made With Organic Ingredients: Made with a minimum of 70% organic ingredients with strict restrictions on the remaining 30% including no GMOs (genetically modified organisms)
• Products with less than 70% organic ingredients may list organically produced ingredients on the side panel of the package, but may not make any organic claims on the front of the package.
I too am glad that someone is finally taking a stance against these terms that often get skewed by marketing trends. If labels would stick to the certified rules, it would be a lot easier to shop, that’s for sure. I find myself reading labels of every product in order to find one that looks the most “natural” because I don’t want to put chemicals onto my skin. As a general rule for me when shopping, anything that I can’t pronounce, like Polyacrylamide, Dimethicone, Sucrose Polycottonseedate stays on the shelf.
I recently came across a new product called Talulah Skin Care. I was comforted to see that I every single item in the list of ingredients was something that I was familiar with such as such as aloe vera, raw honey, green tea, macadamia nut oil, etc. See a full list of their ingredients here: www.talulahskincare.com/ingredients.
I figure if the ingredients for my skin care products are healthy enough to eat or grow in my back yard, then its healthy enough to put on my skin!
posted by katiek on 9/28/2007 12:40 pm