OCA Files Fraudulent Labeling Complaint Against Natural Body Care

From 5/8/03

USA: OCA DEMANDS INVESTIGATION OF 'ORGANIC' BODY CARE PRODUCTS

The Organic Consumers Association (OCA) filed a formal complaint to the
Director of the California Department of Food and Agriculture State Organic
Program (SOP) and the California Department of Health Services, asking them
to investigate the false organic claims made on over 30 body care products
manufactured by Avalon Natural Products.

The OCA charges that Avalon Natural Products is violating regulations set
forth by the National Organic Program and the SOP while deliberately
misleading consumers. According to the OCA, Avalon Natural Products is:
Counting the non-agricultural water of "Organic Floral Water"-a glorified
tea-as part of the organic content of their products; Using synthetic
surfactants and preservatives in their products, some of which are based off
of petroleum; Refusing to identify the organic certifying agency on the
products' packaging; and Identifying products as "organic" on the front
label although these products contain un-allowed synthetic ingredients and
do not contain the minimum 70 percent organic content.

"If California allows hydrosol (i.e. floral water) to be considered an
organic ingredient, it sets a precedent on a national level that could
ultimately render the Organic Standards Act useless," says Simon Harris, OCA
National Campaign Director, "We are filing this claim because consumers have
demanded stringent organic standards and we cannot ignore Avalon's
misleading tactics any longer," adds Harris.

Avalon Natural Products is one of several body care companies in question
with synthetic surfactant based products that proclaim "organic" by adding
floral waters. These waters are claimed to somehow be key functional
components of their products. However, hydrosols (versus water "extracts")
did not exist as an ingredient in body care formulations until companies
started to use them to make fraudulent inflated organic claims. Not only is
the presence of these waters largely insignificant and inconsequential,
their actual organic content is extremely minimal since they are almost
completely water. Nonetheless, various so-called "natural" body care
manufacturers, such as Avalon Natural Products, are using these waters to
green-wash their products and make organic label claims, even though their
formulations are in fact largely composed of the same conventional synthetic
cleansers, conditioners and preservatives found in mainstream products. On
the front panels of their products, these companies assert "70 percent
organic ingredients" to mislead consumers into thinking that they are buying
mostly organic products when they assuredly are not.

The California Organic Standards Act of 2003 stipulates a mandatory 70
percent minimum weight of non-water/non-salt agricultural organic content in
a product for a "Made with Organic" label claim to be made on the front
panel, and expressly forbids synthetic ingredients not allowed under the
federal NOP. The OCA has demanded that organic body care standards should
mirror the standards for organic food products. This means that:

* Certified organic agricultural feed-stocks are utilized exclusively,
versus petroleum or conventional vegetable feed-stocks, in the manufacture
of the key basic cleansing and conditioning ingredients.
* Manufacture of such ingredients is ecological.
* The toxicity of each ingredient is minimal.
* Non-agricultural water is not counted in any shape or form as
contributing to organic content.

Web:
http://www.organicconsumers.org