Call For Clearer Labelling

As mentioned previously, the Center for Environmental Health in the US has recently filed a lawsuit against 26 cosmetic companies due to false labelling of their products as organic. Although the lawsuit is largely aimed at American brands, similar issues are now a real problem in the UK. We are calling on the UK authorities, in particular DEFRA, to deal with this issue. Not only did some of the brands mentioned have an unsatisfactory percentage (or none at all) of organic ingredients, but also many of them actually included unnecessary and potentially harmful ingredients, such as Sodium Laureth Sulphate and Parabens.

Rawganic believes that all products labelled as organic should be free from these chemicals, which are unnecessary and potentially harmful. Our range of organic products is certified by the Soil Association, as we believe this accreditation is necessary in distinguishing our products as honest, legible and justly organic.
We believe brands should not be able to make false organic claims as they are completely misleading the consumer and also detracting from brands that work hard to keep their products healthy, environmentally friendly and honest.
Rawganic believes that as well as having accreditation from a certification body,
organic products should only be labelled so if they adhere to guidelines concerning their ingredients. This means they should contain a minimum percentage of ingredients that have been produced organically.

We support calls from the Organic Trade Board for a strict policy for the labelling of products as organic. In France, such a situation already exists following action by the French ARPP. We wish to see this policy established for personal care products in the UK that make organic claims; they should be substantiated in the following ways:

For the product to be considered ‘organic’:
• It should contain 100% organic ingredients, or
• It must be certified by an accredited certification body (such as the Soil
Association)

For the product to be described as containing organic ingredients:
• It must contain the stated percentage of organic agricultural ingredients, or
• It must be certified by an accredited certification body to an independent standard that defines such claims

For example, we use pure organic cotton in facial wipes. We believe organic is hugely important for cotton growers as cotton accounts for about half of the world’s fibre needs.
We want to see cotton grown with a minimum of pesticides, herbicides, insecticides or other similar chemicals. Organic cotton is important for enhanced health and security of farmers bringing about an improved economic situation. The quality of the cotton is more easily improved and managed and gives increased credibility to the industry.
Organic improves social sustainability by creating a healthy product with clear standards and labels. It is not only beneficial for the environment but for the livelihoods of the producers, giving farmers training and education as well as a much safer environment to work in. We use organic cotton because we believe organic cotton is the more ethical and sustainable choice.