It’s natural, pure, AND organic!

“Cosmetics products and ingredients are not subject to FDA premarket approval authority, with the exception of color additives… [the] FDA cannot require companies to do safety testing of their cosmetics before marketing.” (FDA website).

Long story short, the dozens of lotions and potions that have consumed every inch of counter space in our bathrooms are concoctions of thousands of chemicals that have not been tested for safety.  Just that thought alone is enough to make my skin tingle!  All along we’ve assumed that someone somewhere had a high paying job making sure that our stuff was safe.  Not so true after all.

Not to mention the following excerpts from Healthy Child, Healthy World:

•    The average American uses about 10–15 personal care products daily.  I counted more than that for myself… remember this involved everything that goes on the skin.  Soap when washing your hands, dish soap, lotion, lip moisturizers, antibacterial gels, cleansers, make-up, toothpaste, mouthwash, and so on.

•    The FDA approves an average of seven new chemicals every day, and 80 percent are approved in three weeks or less, with or without safety tests.
Wow!  Less than three weeks of testing… are you kidding me?

•    Industrial chemicals are the basic ingredients of personal care products that contain carcinogens, pesticides, reproductive toxins, endocrine disruptors, plasticizers, degreasers, and surfactants.

So, in a self-regulated industry where terms like ‘organic’ and  ‘all natural’ appear on products contaminated with toxins like 1,4-Dioxane, how are consumers to navigate the so-called-’Green’ cosmetics industry and avoid green washed products?

The most important first step is knowing the difference between the following: natural, naturally-derived, organic, certified organic.

Natural: A natural material that is harvested and processed without chemical reaction. Therefore, for a product to claim to be “all natural”, each and every ingredient would have to exist in nature the exact same way as it was used to make the final product.  An example would be Aloe.  Aloe is extracted from the plant and applied to the skin without processing.

Naturally-derived: Since the cosmetic & personal care industry is not regulated, often times, they claim that “naturally-derived” ingredients are natural. For example, the ingredient Cocamide DEA, which is a known human immune system toxicant as defined by the National Library of Medicine, is derived from coconuts. It is used in most cleansers and soaps. Therefore, naturally-derived is not natural at all. It is a synthetic that involved a chemical process regardless of the source. The danger of using a naturally-derived/synthetic ingredient is that the processing aids and impurities are linked to asthma, learning disabilities, infertility, birth defects, and cancer.

Another fun example is vodka.  Vodka is “naturally-derived” from potatoes.  Would you want to give your child vodka?  Legally they could say it’s natural!

Organic: Organic refers to a system of ecological farm management that promotes biodiversity, enhances soil fertility, prevents soil erosion, protects groundwater, conserves energy, and protects our next generation. Organic agriculture prohibits genetic engineering, pesticides synthetic fertilizers, antibiotics, and growth hormones. Many companies now claim to have “organic” products. Without the third-party certification, most likely the product has one or two organic ingredients. Again, this is all unregulated and a product does not have to have any organic ingredients to have the word “organic” in the title. For example, a shampoo can claim to be organic with lavender. The product is most likely 70% water, which has been infused with organic lavender tea bags. In this case, although water in not included in a certified organic product, this shampoo label may claim to be made with 70% organic ingredients. This is a huge problem and is currently legal.

Certified Organic: This is the consumer’s guarantee that they are not being greenwashed. It is a guarantee of authenticity and integrity that every ingredient stands up to the claims made by the manufacturer. The “certified organic” stamp should be visible on the label. The type of certification is also important. Currently the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) and ACO (Australian Certified Organic) are the most stringent in the world. The products bearing these logos are edible and certified to food grade standards. Certified Organic products are minimally processed, naturally extracted, WITHOUT artificial ingredients, synthetic processes, synthetic preservatives, animal testing, and irradiation. Certified Organic Processors must: keep detailed written purchasing, production, and sales records (audit trail), develop stringent quality systems to maintain organic integrity of ingredients, ensure traceability of organic ingredients (from seed to consumer), maintain strict physical separation of ingredients to prevent contamination, undergo periodic on-site inspections (audits).

NOTE: There are various certifying agencies with their own rules and regulations.  The next few posts will contain such information.