What’s in a Name (or Label)? Everything!
While most “clean” beauty products tend to avoid parabens and a handful of other chemicals, that’s about where the definition ends. When it comes to defining clean beauty, it’s up to the manufacturer to determine what the term means. That’s right – it’s a completely unregulated marketing term.
And Certified Organic? It’s highly regulated and legally means a brand, product, or ingredient has been certified by the USDA National Organic Program (NOP). In other words: grown, managed, and processed under very strict regulations without the use of pesticides or fertilizers, or genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The USDA Organic certification is the most rigorous, government-regulated agricultural standard the United States has and is recognized and respected throughout the world.
Plants grown organically provide clean ingredients to promote healthier skin. In fact, they are found to contain a much higher level of vital antioxidants and essential minerals and nutrients than non-organic plants.
Organic farming is also healthier for the surrounding wildlife, as it eliminates any pollution from pesticide and fertilizer sprays and produces less carbon dioxide and other dangerous wastes, thereby supporting the sustainability of our environment.
It’s important to note that if a product is not certified organic, it is supposed to be transparent and must not make any organic claims anywhere on the product or package. Products claiming to be organic without certification might actually contain as little as one percent of organic ingredients.
Simply put, the USDA organic seal ensures that the ingredients in your product were obtained from farmers who follow a strict set of federal standards aimed at promoting ecological sustainability—restricting not 10, 20 or 200 banned ingredients, but over 2100 chemical ingredients—and avoiding substances that are hazardous to the environment, wildlife and human health. Truly organic skincare must contain 70-95% organic-certified ingredients and display either the USDA Organic or NSF Organic seal on its package and/or product. In other words, Certified Organic provides you with clear and clean expectations of what IS and what IS NOT in your product.
And for Nourish Organic?
We believe clean beauty should go beyond a marketing claim. It should be synonymous with clean agriculture, clean soil, clean ingredient harvesting, and clean manufacturing practices. At Nourish Organic, we recognize that every element in the process of creating a product has an impact. All Nourish Organic products are 100% Certified Organic by the USDA or NSF—heightening our safe, sustainable, and transparent formulation philosophy and practices. With the Certified Organic Seal from the USDA and NSF, we can guarantee that our products are organic, sustainably sourced, environmentally produced, and exclude any harmful ingredients.
This is clean beauty, the way nature intended.
Questions? Comments? Or just curious about clean cosmetic chemistry? Send an email to our resident Clean Chemist at cleanchemist@nourishorganic.com!