You are standing in front of a shelf of skincare products all screaming natural and/or organic. One claims to be USDA approved, another Ecocert 'The European Standard' and another 'Australian Certified Organic'. How do you make a decision? Do the products have in them what they claim? How different are the standards anyway?

I took a stroll down the aisles of Coles earlier this week to determine how many skin care products on the shelf claimed to be 'Australian Certified Organic' and carried an independent verification logo like ACO. I was astounded that I could find only one, and that was our own product – the Avado Sensitives certified organic skin care range.

What I did find, however, were a number of products claiming to be ‘organic’ or 'natural' without certification; or carried logos claiming certification from other countries. I wondered what the differences between the various standards were and why other Australian companies went to Europe to get their certification.

To be classified as 'Australian Certified Organic', skin care and other products must contain 95% certified organic ingredients with the remaining 5% being restricted to natural ingredients which must meet stringent requirements. In Australia this includes no synthetic ingredients at all (including no nature identical). The list of what can be used is listed on the ACO website.

In the US, to use the USDA Organic logo on the front panel, a product must have a minimum of 95% certified organic content (not including water and salt). The list, however, of permitted ingredients in the last 5% is very extensive and includes, much to my dismay, ingredients known to be carcinogens. How any baby products company could consider using these and sleep at night I do not know!

Ecocert, the European standard, allows a lower level of certified organic content (70% instead of 95%) and water and salt are allowed to be included in the calculation. I noticed there are some Ecocert approved products with between 50% and 60% certified organic content. Perhaps these were approved under the old standard.

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) has taken strong action against a number of companies. Most notable was the case of Natural Products of Australia Pty Ltd (Natural Instinct) who made a claim its products were “made with/from 100% pure oils and certified organic herbs” (see this case at http://www.accc.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/868614)

So, like me, you are standing in front of a shelf of skincare products all screaming natural and/or organic.

• How do you make a decision remaining confident what you have chosen is in fact what the product claims & not just a clever marketing ploy?
• And on top of this how do you know what each standard, set by the various certifying bodies around the world, covers and if it appears as it seems?

In Australia there is only ONE way to ensure you are buying a totally natural and organic product. You need to look for the logo of the Australian Quarantine Inspection Service approved organisation. Avado Organics uses Australian Certified Organic (ACO – www.australianorganic.com.au ) for their certification as it is recognised in Australia and most countries where certification is available.

The legislations for organics changed recently and the National Standard for Organic and Bio Dynamic Produce now includes a section titled “Cosmetics and Skincare” which can be found on the AQIS website. This sets out the rules and guidelines about what you can and cannot have in your products and what you can and cannot claim on the label. It also stipulates that preservatives can only be from natural sources and no fragrance or parfum may be used.

Avado Organics, being formulators, manufacturers and marketers promote the need to be involved to lift the bar so that consumers have no doubt that the product they are purchasing labelled ‘certified organic’ or ‘organic’ is just that.

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Tags: certified organic, natural, certified Organic Skin Care, Certified Organic Skin Care Standards, Organic Standards, avocado oil