The ‘organic’ beauty goods not as green as they seem

‘This is the tip of the iceberg’

BEAUTY brands including Boots have been accused of misleading customers by falsely labelling products as organic.

Ingredients not certified as organic – and even linked to health problems – were found in a range of cosmetics apparently claiming to be all-natural.

The research for the Soil Association revealed High Street brands including The Organic Pharmacy, Dr Organic and Faith in Nature, were using the word on packaging for shampoos and sunscreens containing potentially harmful ingredients.

A survey for the food charity also revealed more than three quarters of women felt misled by the labelling on the products.

Professor Vyvyan Howard, of the centre for molecular bioscience at Ulster University, studied the contents of a range of beauty products marketed as organic and ranked them on how misleading they were.

He said: ‘I was shocked to find ingredients which could contain human carcinogens in products with labels which could misleadingly suggest that they might be organic.’

Some of the packaging highlighted in the research was found to be emphasising ‘organic’ ingredients when in reality the products only contained small traces.

Among the offending products were Boots’ Beautiful Hair Moisturise & Nourish Shampoo with Added Organic Argan Oil, which contains six ingredients banned under internationally agreed organic standards.

COOLA Make-up Setting Spray with Green Tea & Aloe Organic Suncare was found to contain homosalate – an artificial chemical feared to cause allergies and disrupt hormones.

The spray also contains octinoxate which could affect the neurological development of babies, the Soil Association reported.

And two Korres shower gels were found to contain imidazolidinyl urea which may release the carcinogen formaldehyde.

Unlike organic food, which must adhere to strict EU standards, it is not illegal to label a beauty product organic when it is not. But items can be certified as organic by organisations such as the Soil Association.

Yet 69 per cent of people surveyed by the group said they felt misleading labelling should be against the law.

For products to be certified organic by the Soil Association, they must never be tested on animals, contain no genetically modified ingredients as well as silicone oils or derivatives, only use natural plant colours and fragrances which are gentler on your skin and for the environment, and they must minimise waste and pollution.

Soil Association policy director Peter Melchett said: ‘This is the tip of the iceberg. The labels on products we encountered were littered with confusing terms.’

Some of the labels were shown to 1,000 women aged between 18 and 65, and 76 per cent said they felt misled when they found out the product would never be certified as organic.

Some 69 per cent of the women said they chose products labelled ‘organic’ because they thought they were making a positive environmental choice.

Certified organic products often cost less per 100ml than many of the uncertified products making organic and natural claims.

All brands were contacted but so far only Boots has responded to say it is looking into the issue.