Yesterday we had our annual inspection by the Soil Association. After a gruelling five hours of auditing, processing checks, organic integrity checks, traceability checks, supplier checks, packaging material checks, production process and operating procedure checks, good manufacturing practice checks, legal and statutory requirement checks, and knowledge of standards assessment, we thankfully passed with flying colours!

All of this (plus a substantial fee to the Soil Association), to prove to our customers that we are fully committed to producing authentic organic products that proudly carry the Soil Association symbol.

You might ask why we go to these lengths to prove our organic integrity, when there is no law to prevent us using the term ‘organic’ anyway. The answer is simple; we are serious about what we do. We are committed to the organic philosophy. And we don’t want to mislead our customers.

No legislation covering cosmetics

Unlike food, there is no current law preventing cosmetics manufacturers from using the term 'organic', even if the organic content is  as little as one or two percent.

In a recent ASA Adjudication on Boots UK Ltd, over their 'natural' baby products brand 'Little Me Organics' (left), Boots said that "...they understood there was no legal definition of what constituted 'organic' with reference to cosmetics."

The complainant challenged whether claims that the product was 'organic' were misleading, because they implied it met an independent organic standard. The Advertising Standards Authority upheld the complaint about the use of the word organic, because it was being used to describe a product with less than 5% organic ingredients.

Little Me Organics has since removed the word 'organic' from product images on its website.

The term 'greenwashing' is used to describe this kind of misleading labelling - and it really is rife in the beauty and cosmetics industry. 'Green', 'natural' and 'organic' are terms being used by brands to increase market share by luring customers into buying something they believe to be pure, and free from chemical nasties.   Thankfully, some of these brands are now being exposed. And now I'll get down from my soapbox! (Let me know whether you agree with me by leaving a comment below.)

Associated links

Read the ASA's adjudication Read the Guardian's report