What does “Natural” and “Organic” mean on product labels? Part 2
May 11, 2008 by Pure and Organic
When chemicals such as Cocamide DEA or Sodium Hydroxysultaine are followed by the term “derived from coconut oil” the consumer is led to believe that these synthetic chemicals must be natural.
While this may be true in some cases; it is ultimately irrelevant because what you end up with after the chemical processing is usually anything but natural or pure.
For example, to create Cocamide DEA, a foaming agent 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,” we usually think it means ‘grown and cultivated without the use of chemicals’. That is the conclusion most cosmetics companies would like us to make when we see the term “organic” on a label.
Some of those companies are cynically using the chemistry definition of “organic” – meaning a compound that contains a carbon atom. Carbon is found in anything that has ever lived. By using this definition of organic, they are saying that a 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.
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?
Isn’t there 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, Australian Certified Organic (ACO) is the largest.
Searching for products with the logo of a certifying body on the label is the only way can guarantee the organic authenticity and integrity of every ingredient in the product.
Without this, the organic claim means nothing, as it cannot be verified. Here are some examples of internationally recognised certifying bodies:
Previous: How do we know what we are buying is really natural? Part 1
Next: How do we know what we are buying is really “NATURAL” and “ORGANIC”? Part 3
