Noticias
y campañas
de la OCA
en español
Coming Clean Campaign
Alert
Have you fallen prey to misleading "organic" labeling on personal care products that contain a host of synthetic ingredients? Take action here.
Key Links :
- A new study commissioned by the Organic Consumers Association found the carcinogen 1,4-Dioxane in a large number of leading personal care products misbranded as organic, including Giovanni, Natures Gate and JASON (see a full list of products and study results here
- Survey of California Bodycare Consumers (PDF)
4/28 Press Release:
Lawsuit Filed Against Fake 'Organic' Personal Care Brands
3/14/08 Press Release:
Newsflash: New
OCA study finds possible carcinogen in many leading personal care
products misleadingly labeled as organic.
Read
the Press Release
& Take Action!
Video of the March 14 Press Conference:
Links to More Videos:
- Health Ranger Natural News Interview with
Ronnie Cummins on 1,4-Dioxane:
Part One | Part Two | Part Three - KXAN Austin News Report on 1,4-Dioxane
(Click on Video Icon at top of page for
video featuring Adam Eidinger of the OCA)
Coming Clean News Headlines
- 05/03/08 - Forbes Magazine Covers the Organic Body Care Controversy
- 05/02/08 - An Interview with Stacy Malkan, Co-Founder of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics
- 04/30/08 - Household Cleaners, Air Fresheners Linked to Asthma in Adults
- 04/30/08 - Bronner's Files Lawsuit to Stop Organic Labeling Fraud in Body Care Sector
- 04/30/08 - How Safe Are Green Cleaning Products?
- 04/29/08 - Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps Files Lawsuit Against Major 'Organic' Cheater Brands
- 04/29/08 - Dr. Bronner's Soap Company Files Lawsuit Against Bogus Organic Labels on Body Care Products
- 04/24/08 - Look Beautiful Naturally
- 04/14/08 - Federal Panel Fails To Prevent Vicious Testing of Animals
- 04/11/08 - How to Avoid the Eco-Imposters
- 04/10/08 - ALERT: Have You Been Misled by False "Organic" or "Natural" Personal Care Product Labeling-- Please Share Your Story Here
- 04/10/08 - The Sierra Club Sells Out to Clorox
- 04/05/08 - It's Good to Get Busted Sometimes
- 04/03/08 - UK Campaigners Urge Ban on Cancer-Link Chemicals
- 04/03/08 - Study Finds Chemical in Natural Personal Care Products
- 03/31/08 - Organic Bytes #131: Farm Slaves, Organic Lawsuit, rBGH-Free Wal-Mart, more...
- 03/28/08 - Caving to Industry, FDA Refuses to Ban Widely Used Carcinogen Found in Sunscreen & Other Personal Care Products
- 03/28/08 - Sierra Club Removes Leadership of its Florida Chapter for Opposing its Greeenwashing Alliance with Clorox
- 03/26/08 - Sierra Club Partners with Clorox--The Next Stage of Greenwashing
- 03/26/08 - Press Release: OCA and Dr. Bronner's Offer Companies a Contract to Address Organic Misbranding and Labeling in Personal Care
- 03/25/08 - Whole Foods Attempts to Defend Sales of 'Organic' and 'Natural' Body Care Products Containing Carcinogen
- 03/22/08 - Exclusive Interview with Ronnie Cummins, Organic Consumers Association, on 1,4-Dioxane Contamination of Organic Products
- 03/18/08 - PRESS RELEASE: OCA & Dr. Bronner's Challenge Weak Ecocert & OASIS Standards
- 03/18/08 - Letter from Concnerned Organic Consumer to Nature's Gate
- 03/18/08 - PRESS RELEASE: OCA & Dr. Bronner's Issue Cease and Desist Letters to Organic Cheaters
- 03/18/08 - Cancer-Causing Contaminant Soils Cleaning Products
- 03/17/08 - LA Times Covers OCA's Expose of Carcinogens
- 03/17/08 - Fact Sheet: What is 1,4-Dioxane?
- 03/17/08 - Industry Creates New Bogus "OASIS" Organic Standard for Personal Care Products
- 03/17/08 - View List of Leading Personal Care Products Found to Contain Possible Carcinogen 1,4-Dioxane
- 03/17/08 - OCA PRESS RELEASE: Carcinogenic 1,4-Dioxane Found in Leading "Organic" Brand Personal Care Products
- 03/15/08 - Natural Consumer Products Found Contaminated with Cancer-Causing 1,4-Dioxane in Groundbreaking Analysis Released by OCA
- 03/14/08 - Washington Post Covers OCA Exposure of Cancer Causing Chemical in Bogus Organic & Natural Body Care Products
- 02/27/08 - Fox News: How Green Are Organic Shampoos and Lotions?
- 02/19/08 - Residues in Water from Body Care & Pharma Products Causing Sex Changes in Marine Life
- 02/19/08 - Survey Finds Consumers Are Confused About "Organic" Personal Care Product Labeling
- 02/11/08 - What's Lurking In Your Cosmetics?
- 02/11/08 - Element In Lotions May Enter Babies' Skin
- 02/06/08 - Study Finds High Levels of Chemicals in Infants Using Conventional Baby Cosmetics
- 02/05/08 - Baby Shampoo Study Raises Chemical Concerns
- 01/24/08 - Sunscreens Go Viral On Coral
- 01/22/08 - Makeup of Makeup
- 01/21/08 - Warning: The Drugs in Your Toothpaste Can Affect Your Health
- 01/16/08 - Nanoparticles: The Latest Beauty Concern?
- 01/11/08 - OCA Expects Sharp Rise in Organic Certification for Personal Care Products
- 01/07/08 - Can Burt's Bees Turn Clorox Green?
- 01/05/08 - Pucker Up: Industry Sees Rise in Organic Makeup
- 12/14/07 - Mercury in Mascara? New Ban Coming for Beauty Products in Minnesota
- 12/13/07 - Danger: What In The World Are You Putting On Your Skin?
- 12/05/07 - The Ugly Side of Beauty Products
- 12/03/07 - Consumer Warning: Are Your Products Safe? You Can't Tell
- 12/01/07 - Buzzing About Clorox Buying Out Burt's Bees
- 11/30/07 - Natural Cosmetics Lobby Group Formed in Europe
- 11/29/07 - Certified Organic Skin Care: No Seal No Deal?
- 11/25/07 - Personal Care Products Take On Organic Challenge
Related Documents & Downloads
- OCA's March 26 Press Release
- Organic Brading Agreement Contract Sent to Bodycare Companies (Word .doc)
- Cover Letter Sent with the Contract (.doc)
- Survey of California Bodycare Consumers (pdf)
- OCA's March 14 Press Release on 1,4-Dioxane
- OCA's 1,4-Dioxane Alert with product testing results (pdf)
- 1,4-Dioxane Testing Results
- 1,4-Dioxane Fact Sheet (pdf)
- March 17 Press Release on OCA & Dr. Bronner's Cease and Desist Letters Sent to Organic Cheaters
- OCA & Dr. Bronners's Cease and Desist Letter (pdf)
- Comparison of Cleansing Ingredients in "Organic" Branded Products (.doc)
- March 17 Press Release on OCA & Dr. Bronner's Challenge of the Weak Ecocert & OASIS Standards.
- Petition to Stop The Bogus "Organic" Oasis Standard (pdf)
- List of over 400 businesses who have signed on to endorse this campaign (pdf)
- Click here if you are a bodycare producer or retailer who would like to join
- Read our survey of over 5,000 consumers to find what they think about organic bodycare products
- Organic Personal Care Consumer Tips Leaflet (pdf)
- List of Synthetic Chemicals to Avoid in Bodycare Products
Organic Integrity in Body Care -
Background Information:
- EPA
Report on Body Care Chemicals
in the Environment - FDA Report - Cosmetic Ingredients:
Understanding the Puffery - FDA Report - Decoding the Cosmetics Label
- Tricks of the Trade
- Organic Beauty is Only Skin Deep
- Background Information on
Ingredients
in So-Called "Natural" BodyCare Products
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Coming Clean: Campaigning for Organic Integrity in Bodycare Products
The word "organic" is not properly regulated on personal care products (example: toothpaste, shampoo, lotion, etc.) as it is on food products, unless the product is certified by the USDA National Organic Program.
Due to this lax regulation, many personal care products have
the word "organic" in their brand name or otherwise on their
product label, but unless they are USDA certified, the main cleansing
ingredients in particular are usually made with conventional not agricultural
material, combined with petrochemical compounds.
Sadly, the commonly used carcinogencic petrochemical Ethylene Oxide actually generates the carcinogenic contaminant 1,4-Dioxane in many of these products.
Tips: Identifying Toxic Contaminantion In Personal Care Products
A new study
commissioned by the Organic Consumers Association found the carcinogen
1,4-Dioxane in a large number of leading personal care products misbranded
as organic, including Giovanni, Natures Gate and JASON (see
a full list of products and study results here and
read our 1,4-Dioxane study press release
here.
Learn more about 1,4-Dioxane by reading our fact sheet here, and for a list of ingredients to look out for on a product label that will indicate the likely presence of 1,4-Dioxane, click here.
Consumer advocate David Steinman (author of the Safe Shopper’s Bible) performed the study with an independent laboratory, and has written an excellent letter to consumers and given a very clear video conference along with OCA Executive Director Ronnie Cummins. Major press has also covered the situation, including the LA Times, Washington Post and NBC News in Austin.
Alert: Stop Bogus "Organic" Misbranding or Certification
To help remove some of this misleading organic labeling from the market, in late March 2008, the OCA and Dr.Bronner's filed Cease and Desist Letters to many of the bogus "organic" brands who utilize conventional and/or petrochemical material instead of organic material in making their main cleansing ingredients, some of whom even tested positive for the carcinogen 1,4-Dioxane in this study. Read the press release here and the Cease and Desist letter here.
Many
of these companies misbrand “Organics” on their labels but
consumers should look for products certified under the USDA [place link
to our recommended products page here], because there are other weak
so-called “organic” standards that a product can become "certified" under,
which do not allow ethoxylation and 1,4-Dioxane, but allow hydrogenation
and sulfation of conventional, not organic material, to make cleansing
ingredients preserved with synthetic preservatives.
Two of these weak standards consumers should look out for are the Ecocert and OASIS standards; Ecocert actually allows certain petrochemicals in cleansing ingredients. Learn more here.
Surveys clearly indicate that when a product labels itself as "Organic" or is sold by a company with the word "Organic" in its brand name, consumers are willing to pay extra, because they believe that product does not contain cleansing ingredients made with conventional and/or petrochemical material, that may be contaminated with carcinogenic compounds like 1,4-Dioxane. See survey results here.
Based on this, the OCA and
Dr.Bronner's have filed Cease and Desist
letters with companies currently
misleadingly labeling their products as "organic" (see
press release here). The OCA targeted "organic" companies
that chose not to announce plans to reformulate their products are now going to court (see press release).
OCA's Coming
Clean Campaign is focused on cleaning up the organic personal care industry
by ridding of fraudulent labeling that is misleading consumers. Over
400 organic businesses have signed on to support this campaign (see
a list of supporting businesses here or
sign your business on to be a supporter
here).
If you are a personal care producer or retailer and would like to support OCA's Coming Clean Campaign, click here.
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