Beware of ‘Greenwashing’
What is there not to like about ‘going organic’ since it presents a ‘win-win’ contract between ourselves and the planet? Today, the trend towards buying organic beauty and well-being products is certainly on the rise, especially amongst younger people, following the already established popularity of organic food, which can now be found in all the high street supermarkets… But don’t be fooled!
Contrary to the rigid standards in place for organically certified food and drink in the EU, this degree of carefully controlled legislation does not exist in the same way for organic and natural beauty products. And because of the increasing popularity of the ‘natural’ and ‘organic’ brands, it means that many companies are promoting themselves as being ‘organic’, when their skin care or cosmetic products contain zero or very little organic ingredients. ‘Greenwashing’ is the term coined by Soil Association to describe what has become a common advertising hype, aimed at misleading the public by taking advantage of the gaps in current legislation for beauty products.
Our organic promise at Aqua Oleum
At Aqua Oleum we are careful to fulfill all the rigorous requirements for genuine organic certification and standards of practice as laid down by the Soil Association. By doing so we are able to display the Soil Association logo on all our organic products, which acts as a genuine ‘seal of guarantee’ to the customer that they are buying the real article! You can read more about this issue in their ‘Come Clean About Beauty’ report which outlines all the problems associated with currents beauty and well being standards on the Soil Associations website. In short, to ensure a product is guaranteed organic, look for the Soil Association symbol on the product before you buy it. When you see the Soil Association symbol on a skin care or cosmetic product it means that:
‘The producer has had its manufacturing facility inspected annually by the Soil Association or another certifying body; all product formulae and labels have been approved; it will be clearly labelled so that you can make an informed choice about the product you are buying; any non-organic ingredients are being used because no organic equivalents were available; all ingredients are GM free – non-organic ingredients can only be used if their suppliers has submitted a declaration that it is non-GM; it has used minimal non-organic additives and only those from a restricted list. These must be non-GM and can only be used if the organic version of that ingredient is not yet available; any processed ingredients, are processed by ecologically sound means’