Many popular brands of personal care products use words like “organic” on their product labels or company names, but the products they’re selling don’t meet organic standards. So the Organic Consumers Association ( organicconsumers.org) has been waging a public campaign to expose “organic cheaters” and encourage consumers to boycott those brands.

Late last week, a significant victory was achieved for organic consumers: the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) voted 12 to 1 to require personal care products touting the word “organic” to actually meet organic standards. (Previously, this was not required.)

This is big news because it means the USDA will now start cracking down on non-compliant brands that inappropriately use the word “organic” on their product labels.

“Brands that are using the word organic improperly should be on notice that USDA enforcement is imminent. Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan has said that she is going to get ‘tough on crime’ in the organic industry,” said Ronnie Cummins, Executive Director of the OCA. “I expect them to make organic cosmetics fraud a top priority. In the meantime, retailers should start cleaning up their body care aisles. Whole Foods Market, for one, was a big supporter of the NOSB recommendation.”

Boycott these “organic cheater” brands

NaturalNews encourages readers to join the Organic Consumers Association in its boycott of these brands of personal care products:

• Desert Essence Organics Body Care
• Organics by Noah’s Naturals
• Giovanni Organic Cosmetics
• Nature’s Gate Organics
• Amazon Organics
• JASON Pure Natural and Organic
• Avalon Organic

Until these companies clean up their labels and achieve full compliance with new USDA organic standards, this boycott will remain in effect. It’s all part of the OCA’s “Coming Clean” campaign that seeks to end labeling fraud in the personal care products marketplace.