For the incredibly large and ever growing number of consumers working to eliminate unnecessary chemicals from their lives, strolling through the aisles of any store can be more than a little frustrating. Even whole food and health stores often carry products made up primarily of ingredients that are best avoided. The unregulated use of terms such as “organic” and “natural” contribute to the broad spread confusion that makes choosing healthy products so difficult.
The Organic Consumers Association has graciously put together a list of products they label “Organic Cheater” products. These products blatantly make claims on their labels and in their marketing materials that are designed to appeal to consumers in search of healthy alternatives to traditional products. Yet, according to the Organic Consumers Association and the Environmental Working Group’s “Skin Deep” Cosmetic Safety Database, these claims are utterly false and intentionally misleading.
Four of the brands listed below are among the subjects of a complaint filed by the OCA with the USDA. Both Eminence “Organic” Skin Care and Head “Organics” changed their minds after making a commitment to disclose their product and ingredient information for safety assessment. Ilike “Organic” Skin Care and Surya Sapien “Organic” have also brazenly refused to cooperate in assessment processes that would confirm or deny the legitimacy of their organic claims. Included in this complaint filed by the OCA, all four of these companies use – as their main cleansing agents – surfactants that are made from petrochemicals. These chemicals contain zero organic agricultural material. Eminence claims that the Alpha Olefin Sulfonate they use in their “Organic Stone Crop Bodywash” is derived from a plant source. The only commercial availability of this cleanser is in pure petrochemical form. There is little wonder consumers feel frustrated and confused.
It is important to note that truly organic products – those in compliance with the FDA’s “National Organic Program” must – by the nature of the ingredients allowed through this program – be relatively safe. This list is not inclusive of all unsafe products. Rather it focuses specifically on those brands intentionally labeling themselves in such a way as to lead the public consumer to believe that Organically Grown ingredients have been used as the primary components in their formulas.
When considering a new product – regardless of the claims made on the label – it is always wise to search for its safety ranking on the Environmental Working Group’s cosmetic database at http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com.
Below is a summarized list of pseudo-organic offenders by brand, along with the hazard scores assigned to them by EWG’s database. EWG rankings are based on a 0 – 10 scale, with 0 – 2 considered “low hazard,” 3 – 6 considered “moderate hazard,” and 7 – 10 considered “high hazard.”
A more detailed spreadsheet that highlights each individual product made by these companies/brands is available through the OCA website.
Dr. Bronner’s Organic & “made with organic oils” Products
These products rank relatively low on the hazard scale with only products classified with “moderate hazard” ranking.
Jason “Pure, Natural & Organic” Products
While a small number of this company’s products are considered “low hazard,” the vast majority fall into the “moderate hazard” range, with a dozen containing ingredients that create a “high hazard” formula.
Avalon “Organic” Products
Roughly two-thirds of their products have been given a “moderate hazard” rating of between 3 and 5. Thankfully, none of their products fall into the “high hazard” category.
Kiss My Face “Obsessively Organic” Products
Slightly more than half their products are ranked as “moderate hazard”. None are ranked as a high hazard.
Nature’s Gate “Organics” Products
Their line consists of three “low hazard” products, three “high hazard” products and the rest fall into the “moderate hazard” range.
Stella McCartney Care “100% Organic” Products
All products in this line fall into the “moderate risk” range.
Giovanni “Organic” Products
This line has several “low hazard” products, but more than half of them fall into the “moderate hazard” range.
Head “Organics” Products
The NOP considers all of their products to be “high hazard” due to their refusal to comply with ingredient disclosure requirements that would permit safety assessment.
Desert Essence “Organics” Products
This company is in only partial compliance regarding ingredient disclosure, however, the data they have provided ranks 75% of their product line as “moderate hazard.”
ILike “Organic” Skin Care Products
The NOP considers all of their products to be “high hazard” due to their refusal to comply with ingredient disclosure requirements that would permit safety assessment.
Eminence “Organic” Skin Care
The NOP considers all of their products to be “high hazard” due to their refusal to comply with ingredient disclosure requirements that would permit safety assessment.
Physician’s Formula “Organic” Wear Products
Roughly one-third of this company’s products are considered “low hazard.” The remainder fall into the “moderate hazard” category.
Surya Sapien “Organic” Products
The NOP considers all of their products to be “high hazard” due to their refusal to comply with ingredient disclosure requirements that would permit safety assessment.
The “Organic” Bath Co. Products
All of their products fall into the “moderate hazard” ranking, with many of these at the upper end of the ranking system toward “high hazard.”
Freeman GoodStuff “Organics”
These products rank in the middle of the “moderate hazard” scale.
Obviously, consumers should always conduct independent research to determine the safety of and their comfort level with ingredients used in products they purchase. The potential for misinterpretation of marketing terms used by companies who hope to benefit from consumer concerns about the safety of personal care products is significant. For more information about this industry-wide problem, visit The Compact for Safe Cosmetics at safecosmetics.org. This non-profit organization is an excellent resource for anyone wanting to broaden their understanding of the personal care industry as it relates to safety, health and consumer protection.
Visit “Salon Naturals” at www.salonnaturalsonline.com for more great articles that will arm you with the information needed to shop wisely!
