Are your beauty products truly organic?

The world of organics has come on leaps and bounds in the past 10 years.

Unsophisticated balm-based formulations and ‘earthy’ packaging is gradually making way for high performance formulations with proven skin benefits and premium presentation.

Unfortunately, the growing consumer demand for natural beauty products has led to a number of brands falsely labelling their products as ‘natural’ or ‘organic’ in an attempt to cash-in on the trend.

As someone who works hard (and invests heavily) in organically certifying each and every product in my range, such misleading claims really get on my goat!

I’ve found a lot of shared frustration out in blogger land, and came across an interesting post  over on the Beauty Bureau.

Entitled ‘Black Marketing’, the blog reveals common tactics many faux organic brands employ to reel you in.

• Greenwashing – exploiting the absence of labelling regulations controlling the terms ‘natural’ or ‘organic’. Believe it or not these are very often the companies with the word ‘organic’ in their brand name! 
• Misdirection – alluding to the organic certification of a whole range when only one or a few of the company’s products has met any certification standard.  
• Trade Secrets – employing words such as ‘fragrance’ and ‘parfum’ in ingredient lists. The latter can be used as a cover for over a hundred different chemicals some of which have nothing to do with aroma.

There is plenty to say about every one of BB’s points, but for me Greenwashing is the one that most customers fall victim to.

Food and drink has to be independently audited and licensed to carry the word ‘organic’ in its title. Unfortunately the same rule does not apply to cosmetics.

Independent organic certification is the only way to be sure of a product’s true organic credentials. So, always look for the Soil Association kitemark.

Don’t be duped!