Hands up all of you who know how to read labels on products! Hands up again if you know the difference between the terms ‘organic’, ‘pure’ and ‘natural’.
A recent survey has highlighted a huge gap in consumers? understanding of how to ?read? the labels on skincare products. Even those who claim to be eco-savvy were unable to differentiate between pure, natural and organic, and their understanding of how to read the constituent ingredients was scarily off mark.
The study, commissioned by undertaken by Spiezia Organics skincare found that more than half of respondents do not know that ingredients on skincare products are always listed in the percentage order of ingredients, with the highest percentage being listed first.
Nearly half (49%) thought pure, organic and natural statements on packaging meant that these products did not contain any chemicals and 11% were unsure.
Of the respondents, 39% did not know what percentage of natural ingredients must be used to make a ?natural? product and a further 24% guessed at 100%.
Fact : Pure or natural products only need to contain 2% natural ingredients ? the other 98% can be anything, chemicals included.
And a surprising 71% believed that organic means that no chemicals have been added to a product and 6% believe that the product is handmade.
When it comes to labeling, 31% did not know what percentage organic ingredients are required in a product labelled ?made with organic ingredients? and a further 37% guessed at 100%.
Fact: In skincare there is no legal definition of organic and there are no EU guidelines to be followed.
Products labeled ?made with organic ingredients? should contain a minimum of 70% organic ingredients. The rest of the ingredients can include chemicals and preservatives.The Soil Association (the UK’s leading campaigning and certification organisation for organic food and farming) requires a product labelled ?Organic? to have 95% organic ingredients and bans the use of sodium laurel sulphate and ingredients of a petrochemical origin.
So how can you tell the difference? Here are some tips:
1. Look for the Soil Association or Ecocert logo on the label- these ensure the ingredients have been sustainably produced and can be traced right back to the farmer and even the field.
2. Read the ingredient list ? this is a good measure of how natural or botanically based the product is. If chemicals are listed high up the list, it isn?t.
RESOURCES
To find out what’s required by a company to claim to produce organic products, visit the Soil Association