Why the term "organic" can be misleading

Familiarity with the term organic is becoming increasingly common. When used to refer to foods, its usage is tightly regulated, so food certification labels have real significance.  Fewer people are aware, however, that the term is not regulated for other types of products such as bodycare and cleaning items.  A look at the EWG database (see below) will highlight this.  A 2009 examination of bodycare companies with the word organic in their name resulted in the discovery of one with products rated as high as "9" (high hazard) and another whose best product is considered a moderate hazard ("4").

The liberal use of words like organic and natural (which is not meaningful even for food) has helped spur the creation of the term "greenwashing."   This refers to the use of green terms for marketing purposes--while the realities may be far from green.

The Environmental Working Group's (EWG) Rating System/Skin Deep Database

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) has developed a cosmetic rating system that is quickly becoming the de facto standard for bodycare products.   Their system evaluates product ingredients and assigns a rating from 0-10 based on industry standard safety data.  The rating of zero identifies approximately the best 9% of products, one indicates the next best 9% and so on.  More detail regarding this process can be found on their website.

Spring Morning Bodycare carries products with ratings that vary from 0-3 (with one exception).  This puts our products in (more or less)the EWG's top 35% and still offers you a range of great frangrances and other sensory characteristics.  This way, you may even convert your teenager!

The EWG Provisional Rating System

For products that are not already in the EWG rating system, there is an option called "provisional rating."  If an item is not included, it is possible to enter its ingredient list and see how the EWG would be likely to rate it if it were part of their database.  Because Spring Morning Bodycare is interested in including artisan products that may not be covered, we have entered the ingredient list for the products we carry that the EWG has not rated.  Sometimes these have come from the product labels and sometimes they have been provided by the manufacturer. These products will show the "provisional rating" designation in the feature section of the product information. 

How does provisional rating compare to the formal rating system?   We are not able to compare the methodologies used in the two rating systems but since they were created by the same organization for the same purpose it is likely they are similar.  We can comment on the data entry process.  WIth manual entry by a layperson, there may be a slightly higher risk of a typo or misidentification of an ingredient (though we have found it gets easier over time make translations such as decaglycerol dipalmitate to polyglyceryl-10 dipalmitate).  And finally we do talk with vendors to see that they are sincere about producing a quality product and encourage them to participate in the EWG process in the future.   

Use of natural products

We urge you to read and follow product directions when you start to use a new natural product. Sometime the directions for use of a natural item may be a bit different from its conventional counterpart.  For example, natural hair sprays must be sprayed more lightly and allowed to dry more between coats.  Or a natural shampoo may need more water and lathering action to foam up than one that uses harsher chemical foaming agents.

While we believe that our products are relatively better, the term "natural" or even "organic" does not mean unequivocably safe.  We urge people to consider a patch test before trying new products, just as they should do with a conventional bodycare product--everyone is unique!  Those with especially sensitive skin may wish to consider unscented products which may be less irritating.   If you would like us to check on the possibility of getting a product in a smaller, trial size (availability varies by manufacturer), please email us.  We are happy to look into this for you.

Some natural products may have a shorter shelf life than conventional products because they use fewer preservatives (though conventional product users need to consider shelf life and contamination issues as well).  Most products will have no problem lasting for a normal period of time, but may lose quality over an extended period.  So consider product size when you purchase and then use them freely.  Remember that you bought these products to enjoy them!