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OCA launches Come Clean Campaign
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This month, the Organic Consumer's Association (OCA) is waging war against dishonesty in the body care industry. It calls it's crusade the Come Clean Campaign. Their battle cry is fairly simple, "Unless you see the USDA Organic Seal, it's not totally organic." The OCA is working to promote an organic standard for the beauty product industry.
Oregon Tilth certification program stands behind this campaign. This pioneer organic certification program wrote the blueprints for what is now the USDA's standards of excellence. Oregon shared the same motivation for it's program as the OCA has for it's current campaign: truth in advertising. Only products that have third party certification of organic practices and ingredients may carry the organic label.
Becoming organically certified may be problematic for some companies as their list of ingredients often includes chemicals that the USDA does not approve. For many business, this would mean changing their formulas to comply. Buyers are advised to review the ingredient list with a wary eye.
Beauty products are notorious for carrying carcinogenic chemicals. The Environmental Working Group maintains a web site called Skin Deep dedicated to publicizing safety risks in cosmetic products. The web site has so far complied more than 52,182 product ratings along with detailed information about 8,798 beauty care ingredients.
The list of body care brands that claim to be organic is extensive. The Organic Consumers Association separated this list into two categories: companies with unsubstantiated organic claims to boycott and companies with substantiated organic claims to support.
Body care companies to boycott:
"Amazon Organics, Avalon Organics, Desert Essence Organics, Earth's Best Organic, Giovanni Organic Cosmetics, Head Organics, JASON Pure Natural and Organic, Nature's Gate Organics, Organics by Noah's Naturals"
Body care organic companies to support:
"Alteya Organics, Baby Bear Shop, Badger, Bubble and Bee Organic, Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps, Indian Meadow Herbals, Intelligent Nutrients, Kimberly Parry Organics, Little Angel, Mercola, Miessence Certified Organics, Nature's Paradise, OGmama and OGbaby, Organicare, Organic Essence, Origins Organics, Purely Shea, Rainwater Organic Lotion, Rose Tattoo Aftercare, SoCal Cleanse, Sensibility Soaps/Nourish, Terressentials, Trillium Organics, Vermont Soap"
It should be noted that shaking consumer confidence by misrepresentation ultimately harms the manufacturers that mislabel their products. Rectifying this labeling error should be a priority for companies that rely on loyal customer support. So far, the OCA has over 600 businesses that endorse this campaign. Until the USDA insists that all products claiming to be organic have paperwork to enforce their claim, let the buyer beware.
When Organic doesn't mean organic.
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