Organic Certification

There is currently no worldwide legislation on skincare manufacture. Standards have been set by individual countries and although the majority recognise and work with each other as much as possible, there are still significant differences that make it hard for us to rely on any of existing organic certifying bodies.

Just because a product is not certified does not mean that that product isn’t really natural or doesn’t really contain certified organic ingredients. There are a number of reasons why we remain outside the certification process. Learn them for yourself.

Soil Association (United Kingdom)

The Soil Association looks after organic produce in the UK covering everything from food standards and farming to textile production. The Soil Association launched its standards for health and beauty in 2002 and they are considered to be the strictest of all of the various accreditation bodies looking after the cosmetics industry. To be certified by the Soil Association as ‘organic’ products must contain 95% or higher organic ingredients. Products can also carry the symbol if they contain 70% or higher organic ingredients. In these instances, the product will say ‘made with X% organic ingredients, making it easy for the consumer to see exactly what the organic content of the product is. Unfortunately, Soil Association still permits the use of sulfate detergents, phenoxyethanol, denaturated alcohol, and formaldehyde donors in their products.

ECOCERT (France)

ECOCERT, a French based company, carry out inspections and organic certification services across the EU and in over 80 countries outside the EU, making them an internationally recognized and respected accreditation body. However, their policies are less stringent than those of any other certifying body. ECOCERT permits the use of semi-natural preservatives, petroleum-based plant extracts, solvents, penetration enhancers, synthetic fragrances, and many other additives that do not belong to natural and certainly not organic skincare.

USDA (America)

USDA stands for the United States Department of Agriculture, who govern organic standards in America. National Organic Program (NOP) specifically looks after the cosmetics industry.

One of the reasons why we do not aim to qualify for USDA seal is that the only preservative NOP recognizes is alcohol (denaturated or organic). To be effective as a preservative alcohol must be used in concentration exceeding 10%. This would make your body lotion as alcoholic as red wine. This high amount of alcohol is not recommended for use in baby products. Alcohol in skincare can irritate the sensitive skin and contribute to dryness and premature aging.

NASAA / ACO (Australia)

The National Association for Sustainable Agriculture Australia and Australian Certified Organic are two bodies governing organic standards in the health and beauty industry in Australia. ACO requires 95% or higher organic ingredients to be recognized as a ‘certified organic’ product licensed to carry the ACO logo. Products carrying not less than 70% organic ingredients are able to use the reference “made with X% organic ingredients” but such products are unable to call them organic.

BDIH (Germany)

Based in Germany, BDIH is a European organization that certifies the naturalness of a beauty product or cosmetic. It does not cover the organic status of a product. In general, ingredients should be plant based with the use of some minerals allowed. Where preservatives are not natural but nature-identical e.g. salicylic acid, these must be clearly labeled as a preservative on the packaging. They do not allow any synthetic dyes, colorants or fragrances, or any petroleum based products, silicones or any ingredient which has been produced using ethoxylation process. Unfortunately, BDIH permits use of semi-synthetic preservatives and natural ingredients produced with use of petrochemicals (PEGs, PGs and such.)

DEMETER

Demeter is the official body for biodynamic farming. Biodynamic agriculture is the oldest and most sustainable approach to farming and gardening in existence. It is founded on a holistic and spiritual understanding of nature and man and builds on the pioneering research work of Rudolf Steiner. Not only does it exclude the use of synthetic fertilizers and chemicals in crop production, it also requires specific measures to strengthen life processes in soil and plants. The Demeter logo can be found on products whose brands adopt this style of farming to produce their ingredients.

THE VEGAN SOCIETY

Products which display the vegan society sunflower logo have been developed and manufactured without any testing of any sort on animals conducted at the request of the manufacturer or on its behalf, or by third parties over whom the manufacturer has control. To us at Petite Marie Organics, this is the only certification body with clear definition and sound principles.