With growing consumer interest—and confusion—over just what the words “natural” and “organic” imply when it comes to personal care products, and with no clear government regulations (other than the USDA label, which is a food standard), it was just a matter of time before some authoritative body stepped in. Now, three new standards have been announced.

Whole Foods, the world’s leading natural and organic foods supermarket and America’s first national certified organic grocer, has developed a new standard of labeling for Premium Body Care products. The retailer’s natural seal of approval promises to make it easy for customers to pinpoint “safe, effective, high-quality and eco-friendly” items on the shelves of its more than 270 stores in the U.S., Canada and the UK. The seal is found on nearly 1,200 products in the chain’s Whole Body departments.

It’s not the first time organic markets such as Whole Foods have expanded their food principles to beauty products. Recently, Bryan Meehan, who sold his UK Fresh & Wild grocery chain to Whole Foods in 2004, launched Nude, a line of eco-friendly, organic body care products, to keep pace with new frontiers in natural food (see http://dhruv_bp.rodpub.com/articles/2008/01/simply-luxurious.php).

Whole Foods says all products that bear the seal are made with ingredients that allow them to function well and are minimally processed so they have little impact on the environment as they’re manufactured and used. According to the company, “the Premium Body Care standard was created to be effective, fair and attainable with the goal of encouraging the body care industry to formulate more products with higher standards.”

OASIS

In a separate move to develop, maintain and administer standards in the cosmetic/personal care industry, representatives from companies such as Estée Lauder, L’Oréal and Hain Celestial Group have formed Organic And Sustainable Industry Standards (OASIS), which claims to be the first U.S. industry standard for certifying organic cosmetic products. Said to be the first 501 C 6 mutual benefit trade association designed to represent the concerns and goals of companies that make sustainable and organic products for the health and beauty industry, its mission is “to provide verifiable standards that support and promote organic and sustainable production for the health and beauty industry, utilizing principles of incremental improvement and continuous change.”

To meet OASIS standards, products will require 85% certified organic content. Plans are for it to reach 95%. Consumers can expect to see products carrying the OASIS-certified seal within the year. The organization is also expected to extend its certification to packaging and sustainable practices.

Certech

Through its IOS Cosmetics Standard, Canadian-owned Certech Registration Inc., an independent accredited certifying body, has developed what it says is North America’s first system certification standard for organic and natural cosmetics. The organization says the standard provides consumers with a guarantee that the claims made by certified cosmetics are proven and supported by facts verified “through a rigorous and unbiased process.” Until now, the organization says, North American cosmetics manufacturers who wanted to certify their products as organic in the U.S. and Canada had only agricultural standards to comply with.
 
In order to be certified as natural under the IOS Standard, a minimum of 95% of the product must be of natural origin. In addition, products that obtain this certification must use certified organic ingredients, be manufactured without producing toxins and use recyclable packaging.
 
Well, that makes things more standardized . .