A California lawsuit highlights the problems consumers have faced in the confusing regulatory terrain of organic and natural personal care products...
On May 29, state Attorney General Jerry Brown filed a lawsuit under Proposition 65 against four companies with "natural" personal care product lines containing the chemical 1,4-dioxane, a known carcinogen.
..."Organic products aren't necessarily inherently safer than non-organics," said David Bronner, president of Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps. "But if they're certified and not making bogus claims, it does guarantee they can't use a lot of problematic petrochemicals."
...'Natural' is a funny word," Bronner said. "The product still doesn't grow on a tree."
Ronnie Cummins of the watchdog group Organic Consumer Association agrees.
"There's a nominal meaning to 'natural,' " Cummins said. "It certainly doesn't connote it's safer than conventional products."
Consumers may not know the difference between natural and organic, but they will pay a premium for both types of goods, according to Cummins.
"They should get their money's worth, not petroleum-based products disguised as natural," Cummins said...
Full Story: http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/1064162.html
