Dr. Bronner fights back in the name of organic cosmetics
labeling of organic cosmetic and personal care products, one small
Californian company has decided to fight back. Simon Pitman
speaks to Bronner's Magic Soap to find out why organic
certification is so important.
The family run Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap has evolved into one of North America's funkiest and most innovative cosmetic and personal care companies, supplying a range of natural and organic body care and soap products to both the US and international markets.
In view of the USDA's recent announcement, the company claims that a lot of hard work will be wasted, leaving consumers in the dark over how to distinguish organic products.
But the Bronner business is not going to take the decision lightly. With company director David Bronner in Washington to put forward the company case to sue the USDA, his brother and company co-director, Michael Bronner, explained the reasons for the legal action.
"The USDA cannot make such a far-reaching decision without going through the proper rule-making and notification procedures that allow for public comment," said Michael Bronner. "We have spent over $5 million dollars complying our lip balms, lotions, and body balms to their standards, and they can't suddenly pull the rug out from under us after we went through all that trouble. They can't all of a sudden say organic olive oil is not organic because we use it in a lotion and not in a salad dressing."
The company is also quick to point out that this is not just a business vendetta. It is equally concerned about the repercussions for consumers, many of whom are already confused by complicated cosmetic and personal care labeling.
"Should it become a reality, then we will not be able to have any label differentiation on our organic products from 'organic' products that do not comply to the stringent organic food standards like we do," he said. "More importantly, the customer will not be able to easily recognize what is really organic bodycare and what is organic puffery. There are several companies that count the water in organic flower waters and hydrosol as organic to bloat their organic content, even though their formulations are largely synthetic.
"The USDA Organic logo would enable organic customers to penetrate the charade, and at a glance they could determine what is really organic and what is not without having to take a class on bodycare labeling."
Gaining recognition for organic cosmetic products has never been a clear-cut process for manufacturers in the US. Michael Bronner pointed out that there never has been any specific certification for bodycare products, which has meant that all companies trying to obtain organic certification - whether it be soaps, snacks, lip balms, lotions, or body balms - have to be certified to the organic food standards.
"Now the USDA wants to take that away from us by not allowing us to use their logo, even though we are certified as a food product," he said. "This means that with the certification it is like the Wild West out there. There is no way for customers to know what is truly organic without either a degree in cosmetic chemistry or a USDA logo to check."
But despite misgivings about all organic products being lumped into one labeling category, the company still believes that the USDA is the right body to certify organic cosmetic products.
"Organic bodycare comes from organic agriculture - or at least it should if everything was properly regulated - so the USDA should be the perfect agency to regulate it," Bronner said.
"The best means of maintaining a certification process is by using independent certifiers themselves certified by the USDA. It would be great if we could use Ecocert certified materials, but unfortunately, due to politics, we cannot buy Ecocert certified organic materials and use them in our products if we want to call them organic in the final formulation. A farmer must get certified by both NOP (National Organic Program [USDA]) and Ecocert if he wants to sell organic products in both Europe and America, even though either standard would suffice."
Dr. Bronner has filed a joint federal lawsuit alongside the Organic Consumers Association less than two weeks after the USDA confirmed they were starting moves that will disallow the National Organic Program for non-food products.
According to the OCA, the new policy will come into effect on October 21, 2005, unless injunctive relief is granted by the court. The lawsuit, has been filed with the US District Court for the District of Columbia.
Even if the USDA does not make a U-turn on its decision to drop its organic labels for cosmetic products, the company will be hoping that its legal action will highlight the fact that an alternative solution should evolve, if only to ensure that consumers are not left in the dark. The outcome of the legal action is likely to be known in the next few months.
