Is It Organic Or Not?
The large and growing population of consumers spends almost $5 billion on natural or organic beauty body care products per year in the US alone. They often willingly pay more for the satisfaction and assurance of buying products they consider pure, healthy and free of toxins.
A lot of body care products, such as soaps, shampoos, skin creams, etc. call themselves organic, but when you look at the label of the product it can be very confusing to say the least, and even misleading.
For example, body care products such as creams and lotions might be made with organic kiwi, strawberries, aloe vera etc. but then mixed with synthetic preservatives.
Some of products are labeled "made with organic" ingredients, a very murky designation indeed, because some products that do not meet even the lower standard could possibly still use "organic" in their product names.
Cosmetic Standards
It’s hard to believe, but the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not define or regulate the term “organic,” as it applies to cosmetics, body care, or personal care products.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) regulates the term “organic” as it applies to agricultural products through its National Organic Program (NOP).
Cosmetics, body care products, and personal care products may be certified to other, private standards and be marketed to those private standards in the United States. These standards might include foreign organic standards, eco-labels, earth friendly, etc. However the USDA’s NOP does not regulate these labels at this time.
If a cosmetic, body care product, or personal care product contains agricultural ingredients, and can meet the USDA/NOP organic production, handling, processing and labeling standards, it may be eligible to be certified under the NOP regulations.
The operations which produce the organic agricultural ingredients, the handlers of these agricultural ingredients, and the manufacturer of the final product must all be certified by a USDA-accredited organic certifying agent.
The USDA has no authority over the production and labeling of cosmetics, body care products, and personal care products that are not made up of agricultural ingredients, or do not make any claims to meeting USDA organic standards.
Synthetic Mix
Some companies mix synthetic and organic ingredients because the synthetics do things that organics cannot accomplish easily. It’s getting easier, but it’s still not very easy to make some body care products 95 percent organic and still do a good cleaning job.
In shampoos and soaps, rich lather, clean scent and long shelf life is often because the product contains synthetic surface-active substances, perfumes and preservatives. Moisturizers, for their part, often contain petrolatum, a gelatinous substance derived from petroleum, and emollients like dimethicone.
In fairness, a lot of producers only use synthetic ingredient in small amounts which gives consumers very low levels of exposure. Still some synthetic ingredients can be irritating to sensitive individuals and have been linked to possible health problems in preliminary studies on rodents and humans when used in excessive amounts.
So it comes down to, it is more important for products to be safe and effective than for them to be 95 to 100 percent organic.
Whenever a product carries the label "made with organic" ingredients, you should dig a little deeper for information and look at the label. The word "hydrosols" high on the list should raise suspicion about the amount of organic ingredients in a product, because it may in some cases be just a fancy word for water.
Water is not considered an organic ingredient, according to government standards, but hydrosols, the water collected when herbs or flowers are steam-distilled, is. A manufacturer could therefore bulk up on hydrosols made with certified organic ingredients to justify a 70 percent organic claim.
Aloe vera is likewise used in large amounts in some products to boost the organic content to 70 percent.
Brands that have the word "organic" as part of their name may also be confusing to consumers, especially if their products are not even 70 percent organic. The National Organic Program does not categorically forbid this practice. The preamble to its regulations states that the word "organic" in a brand name does not inherently imply an organic production or handling claim and, thus, does not inherently constitute a false or misleading statement.
Organic Labeling Categories
Once certified, cosmetics, personal care products, and body care products are eligible for the same following 4 organic labeling categories as all other agricultural products, based on their organic content and other factors:
100 Percent Organic
Product must contain (excluding water and salt) only organically produced ingredients. Products may display the USDA Organic Seal and must display the certifying agent’s name and address.
Organic
Product must contain at least 95 percent organically produced ingredients (excluding water and salt). Remaining product ingredients must consist of nonagricultural substances approved on the National List or non- organically produced agricultural products that are not commercially available in organic form, also on the National List. Products may display the USDA Organic Seal and must display the certifying agent’s name and address.
Made With Organic Ingredients
Products contain at least 70 percent organic ingredients and product label can list up to three of the organic ingredients or “food” groups on the principal display panel. For example, body lotion made with at least 70 percent organic ingredients (excluding water and salt) and only organic herbs may be labeled either “body lotion made with organic lavender, rosemary, and chamomile,” or “body lotion made with organic herbs.” Products may not display the USDA Organic Seal and must display the certifying agent’s name and address.
Less Than 70 Percent Organic Ingredients
Products cannot use the term “organic” anywhere on the principal display panel. However, they may identify the specific ingredients that are USDA-certified as being organically produced on the ingredients statement on the information panel. Products may not display the USDA Organic Seal and may not display a certifying agent’s name and address. (Water and salt are also excluded here.)
Any cosmetic, body care product, or personal care product that does not meet the production, handling, processing, labeling, and certification standards described above, may not state, imply, or convey in any way that the product is USDA-certified organic or meets the USDA organic standards.
