The Soil Association is launching a new campaign called 'Campaign for Clarity' to combat the practice of 'greenwashing' - where companies label their products as 'natural' and 'organic' when they're often nothing of the sort. Regular readers of our blog will know it's something we've highlighted in the past. Because it makes us MAD, MAD, MAD!

Since 'natural' and 'organic' have become such powerful buzzwords in the beauty and skincare industry, many companies have started making bold claims about natural and organic ingredients on their packaging - while burying in the fine print the multitude of non-organic ingredients that also go into that product.

For example, a company might greenwash consumers by boldly labeling their product as 'Organic Honey Body Lotion' when the product actually only contains a minimal amount of organic honey – and the rest of the ingredients are non-organic.

Since all of our products at Botanicals are both natural and certified organic by the Soil Association, we’re often frustrated to see big-business skincare companies greenwashing their packaging and misleading consumers into buying products that simply don’t have the benefits of truly organic skincare.

Check the label

So how do you avoid being greenwashed? Checking any skincare product you buy for organic certification by an accredited organization, like the Soil Association, is the only way to know that your beauty and skincare products are truly organic and only contain ingredients that are kind to your skin.

Certifiers have rigid standards on ingredients and manufacturing processes, which ensure that the quality and values that the word 'organic' represents are actually reflected in the products that earn certification.

We stand with the Soil Association’s 'Campaign for Clarity' to reclaim the word organic for businesses that only sell 100% organic products. We believe it’s unfair to consumers that, unlike organic food, there is currently no legal standard in place for organic beauty – and although normal trading standards laws should prevent false claims from being made, it’s clear that that simply isn’t happening.

The 'Campaign for Clarity' aims to make organic labeling exclusive only to cosmetics and personal care products that comply to strict, 100% organic standards (such as the COSMOS standard) and have a certification stamp that gives consumers the confidence to know that what they are buying is truly and wholly organic.

At Botanicals, we put all our products to the Soil Association’s test because we know it matters to our customers that what we sell is what we promise – natural and organic. That’s why you’ll find an organic certification seal on everything we sell.

As the Soil Association says; 'Nothing to hide? Then show us'.

Click here to read about the 'Campaign for Clarity' on the Soil Association's website.