“Natural Cosmetics”. “Organic Products”. These are the latest trends in the beauty industry, but what do those terms mean? You see, there are no international regulations when it comes to manufacturing and labeling natural and organic cosmetics, so if you’re shopping for these kinds of products, make sure you do your homework and know what you’re looking for.
Natural Cosmetics should contain natural ingredients usually essential oils or plant extracts such as Olive Oil, Almond Oil or Shea Butter. These ingredients are obtained without chemical processing through more “natural” processes such as steam distillation or cold pressing. Organic ingredients take this a step further by ensuring the plants are grown with respect for the eco-system, with no use of chemical fertilizers or pesticides and growing conditions closely monitored by independent agencies.
L’Occitane works with Ecocert, an organic certification organization based in France, which conducts inspections on organic products in over 80 countries. Ecocert labels products as organic based on a set of very strict standards. You may be familiar with other similar labels, such as USDC Organic, denoting an organic ingredient or product.
So can you buy all natural or 100% organic products? Yes and no. Remember, there is no regulation on that kind of labeling yet. If you are shopping for these kinds of products, it’s important to educate yourself and ask questions of the sales associates in the stores where you shop such as “Where are you getting your ingredients from?” or “Do your products have any organic certifications?”.
L’OCCITANE has been bringing natural cosmetics, organic ingredients and organic products from the Mediterranean to the world since 1976, so we have a little experience speaking about natural and organic, and what it means for us and our customers.
What does natural and organic beauty mean to you?
~ John
