If It Doesn't Have The Seal... It Ain't The Real Deal!
Needless to say, I've become an extremely conscious consumer recently... I guess the Big "C" will do that to you. I'm "that girl" who spends 4 hours reading labels a the grocery store, who knows most of the team members in the Whole Body department at WF's by name. At first, I remember thinking- wow, these "organic" brands weren't as bad as I thought- and they actually work too! It seemed too good to be true, but I wasn't gonna ask questions- I had other things on my plate.
Low and behold... I had been bitch-slapped by organic cheater brands! Umm... so yeah- up until a few months ago, I honestly believed that when a product said "organic" or "natural" on the label- it meant that it truly was. Stupid me. I, along with everyone else I knew who was trying to buy safer cosmetics had been tricked yet again! This is one of the reasons I started this blog.
Get Beauty-Schooled About The Cosmetics Industry...
- There are actually no laws, rules or regulations for cosmetic companies to follow- (how is that possible in this day and age?) Find Proof Here...
- Cosmetic companies are not required by any law to test ingredients for product safety, report adverse reactions, register products, list ALL ingredients in a product on the package or release their formulas to the FDA.
- They are allowed to use ANY ingredient on the planet in their products. Yikes!
- When you pull a product off the shelf, you probably assume it's been tested for product safety- guess what? Most likely it hasn't been. How sad.
- The FDA spends only about 1% of it's budget to monitor the entire beauty industry, which is considered self-regulated by the very same companies that sell us "Hope in a Jar".
- Just because a label says "Natural" or "Organic" doesn't mean anything actually is natural (or organic for that matter) in the product.
- Just because companies sign the "Compact for Safe Cosmetics" campaign agreement on the Skin Deep website, doesn't mean their products are automatically safe- it means that they intend to TRY to make them safer in the future.
- You might be paying premium prices thinking you're getting pure, premium products- when in reality it's just a conventional product with the word "organic" slapped on it.
USDA Organic Standards:
- There are currently standards for organic food and agriculture, where if "organic" is used in the product name- it is truly organic.
- There are no set standards for what constitutes a "natural" or "organic" other than for those that are USDA certified organic.
- Many beauty products so-called "natural' products are often mis-labeled and are made primarily from synthetic ingredients, petrochemical compounds, laced with herbicides, pesticides and other harmful carcinogenic chemicals.
- The USDA regulates organic personal care products ONLY if they are made up of agricultural ingredients.
- Know your Organic Certification seals and understand what they mean...
Fake "Organic" Cheater Brands Exposed
(Sadly, A Few Of My Faves...):
- Avalon "Organics"
- Desert Essence "Organics"
- Earth's Best "Organic"
- Eminence "Organic" (Except Few w/USDA Seal)
- Giovanni "Organic"
- Freeman Goodstuff "Organics"
- Head "Organics"
- Jason "Pure, Natural & Organic"
- Kiss My Face "Obsessively Organic"
- Nature's Gate "Organics"
- Physicians Formula "Organic" Wear
- Stella McCartney "100% Organic"
