WHAT DOES "NATURAL" AND "ORGANIC" MEAN ON PRODUCT LABELS?

Nowhere does the idea of "natural" or "organic" take a more gratuitous bruising than in the skin/body care industry.

If we first take the word "natural" and look it up in the Concise Oxford Dictionary we would find this description of natural:

"existing in, or caused by nature; not artificial; uncultivated; wild existing in natural state; not disguised or altered".

It seems pretty clear what "natural" actually means to me! Does it to you?

However when vested interests get hold of the word natural they put a whole new slant on it. It may seem pretty clear to you and me exactly what we mean by natural but for the marketing men they obviously haven't read the dictionary and start bending the interpretation of natural to suit themselves.  

Many labels have long lists of chemical names, some followed by the phrase "derived from " (some natural substance). This is grossly misleading for consumers who are looking for genuine natural products.

When chemicals such as Cocamide DEA or Sodium Hydroxysultaine are followed by the words "derived from coconut oil" the consumer is led to believe that these synthetic chemicals must somehow be "natural".

While this may be true in some cases where a natural oil or extract is actually used, it is ultimately irrelevant because what you end up with after the chemical solvent extraction and processing is usually anything but natural or pure.

It is just another chemical concoction with some rather awful sounding long names to describe the process the "natural" product went through.

Now what about "organic"?  

Again if we look in the dictionary for the word organic it is pretty obvious to us what we expect to find as far as safe products in general are concerned. Would you say in the context you are expecting to use or find the term organic that this would be a fair description;

"produced and involving production without the use of pesticides, artificial fertilizers or synthetic chemicals."

To me it seems rather elementary that when describing a product as organic that this is exactly what the customer would expect. However to the marketing men this is not what they mean by organic.

Lets delve a little deeper into this play on words

To create Cocamide DEA, a foaming agent found in some shampoos, requires the addition of a synthetic chemical and known carcinogen, Diethanolamine ­ DEA, to the coconut oil.

It is therefore no longer natural, or safe!

If we look at the term "organic" on a label, we usually think it means "grown and cultivated without the use of chemicals" as stated above.

That is the conclusion most skin care companies would like us to come to when they use the rather loose term organic.

Unscrupulous companies are cynically using the chemistry definition of "organic" ­  which is also defined in the dictionary as "a compound that contains a carbon atom" to confuse consumers.

This is known in the trade as confusion advertising so the real picture becomes blurred.

Carbon is found in everything that has ever lived.

Vested interests by using this definition of organic, they are saying that a toxic petrochemical preservative called Methyl Paraben is "organic" because it was formed from leaves that rotted over thousands of years to become crude oil, which was then used to make this preservative.

How absurd is this when consumers are looking for safe non-toxic products?

read current article on corrosive marketing of organic body products right now in the USA

The play on the word organic gets even worse.

An increasing number of companies are now claiming to use "organic" herbs in their products. But, what about the rest of the ingredients? Are they safe? Are they "natural" or from an "organic" source?  Surely there must be an authority that governs the use of the term "organic" on labels?  

The simple answer is NO!

However, the term "certified organic" IS governed by a number of internationally recognised bodies.

In Australia the Biological Farmers of Australia (BFA) is the largest.

Searching for products with the logo of a certifying body on the label is the only way you can guarantee the organic authenticity and integrity of every ingredient in the product. This can then truly be called a natural product. Without the "Certified Organic" label, the organic claim means nothing, as it cannot be verified and most likely it is a complete hoax perpetrated by the marketing men and their hype.  

HOW DO WE KNOW WHAT WE ARE BUYING IS REALLY..."NATURAL" AND "ORGANIC"?

Fortunately, there is a very simple way to differentiate between the hype and truth in skin care and that is to read the ingredient list on the label.

It is a legal requirement that all skin care products must be labelled with the ingredients in descending order of their quantity in the product.

A good rule of thumb is to divide the ingredient list into thirds: the top third usually contains 90-95% of the product, the middle third usually contains 5-8% and the bottom third, 1-3%.

Here is the ingredient list of a so-called "natural" and "organic" body moisturiser from a well- known "natural" skin care company.

  APRICOT CREAM
  Natural or Organic ingredients include
1 Water (deionised)
2 Isopropyl Palmitate (Palm Oil Derivative)
3 Apricot Kernel Oil
4 Bis-Digyceryl Caprylate/Caprate/Isosterate/Stearate/ Hydroxysterate Adipate (vegetable Triglyceride)
5 Glyceryl Stearate SE (vegetable derived)
6 Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride (glycerin-derived emollient)
7 Ceteareth - 12 (Organic Emulsifier)
8 Tocopherol Oil (vitamin E)
9 Chamomile Extract
10 Sage Extract
11 Linden Extract (Lime Blossom Extract)
12 Balm Mint Extract
13 Shea Butter (From Karite)
14 Wheat Germ Oil
15 Carrot Oil
16 Cetyl Alcohol (organic Co-emulsifier)
17 Sodium Hydroxide (pH Adjuster)
18 Sorbic Acid (Organic Compound)
19 Tocopherol Acetate (vitamin E Derivative)
20 Methyl Paraben
21 Propyl Paraben
22 Imidazolidinyl Urea (Organic Compound)
23 Fragrance
24 FD & C Yellow No 5, D7C Red No. 33.
  Content: Apricot oil (2.5%)

Take note of the last point that says "Content: Apricot Oil (2.5%). Notice Apricot Oil is No 3 on the list.

Because skin care and cosmetic manufacturers are required to list the ingredients in descending order this means everything AFTER Apricot Oil makes up less than 2.5% of the volume.

This effectively means that about 90% of the product is water and Isopropyl Palmitate.

Isopropyl Palmitate is derived from Isopropyl Alcohol, synthetic alcohol and Palmatic Acid, a fatty acid from palm oil. It is known to cause skin irritations and dermatitis and has been shown to have comedogenic (acne promoting) properties!

Nos 5 and 5 are all produced by chemical reactions between various fatty acids and glycerol (synthetic glycerine). They are largely synthetic and have been shown to cause allergies and dermatitis!

No 7 is a synthetic emulsifier that may contain dangerous levels of ethylene oxide and dioxane - both are known carcinogens.

Nos. 8 to 15 are natural ingredients used in tiny amounts merely to make the product look good. They may have been grown using toxic organo-phosphates, other pesticides and chemical herbicides.

No. 16 May be natural or synthetic and has been shown to cause contact dermatitis and eczema.

No. 17 Is otherwise known as caustic soda or lye - a powerful drain cleaner extremely alkaline and corrosive. A known sensitizer for many allergic people.

No. 18 Sorbic acid was once isolated from the Mountain Ash berry, but is now chemically synthesised and is a toxic preservative

No. 19 is synthetic Vitamin E.  

Nos. 20-22 are toxic and allergenic preservatives which have been linked to increasing oestrogen levels in women and is implicated in the rising incidence of breast cancer

No. 23. Probably synthetic, may contain phthalates that have been linked to birth defects.

No. 24. Synthetic colours that could be potentially carcinogenic.

Now let's look at an ingredient list of a certified organic body moisturiser.

This ingredient list says  

  CERTIFIED ORGANIC BODY INTENSIVE
1 Proprietary blend of organic native Australian distilled herbal extracts,
2 Organic Safflower oil
3 Purified Water
4 Organic Avocado oil
5 Organic Cocoa butter
6 Non-GMO Lecithin
7 Organic Sugar-Cane Ethanol
8 Organic Unrefined Beeswax
9 Lime
10 D-Panthenol (pro-vit b5)
11 Olive extract
12 Grapefruit extract
13 Sclerotium gum
14 Organic orange
15 Vanilla extract
   

1. Is a proprietary blend of organic native Australian distilled herbal extracts
2. Is cold-pressed from organic safflower seeds.
3. Purified Water.
4. Is cold-pressed from organic avocado fruit.
5. Is from organic cocoa beans.
6. Is from non-genetically modified soybean oil.
7. Is from organic sugar.
8. Is from organic beehives!
9. Is cold pressed from the skin of organic limes.
10. Is a precursor to vitamin B5.
11. Is from olive leaves.
12. Is from grapefruit seeds.
13. Is a natural gum.
14. Is cold-pressed from organic orange peel.
15. Is from natural vanilla beans.