About Organic Products

Why are some L’OCCITANE products organic and others are not?

Organic food has been around for some time and now there are an increasing number of organic beauty products. However, beauty products are more complex than food – consider that a moisturizer or body lotion is not like a carrot, which is a single, raw ingredient grown in soil.

Beauty products are a mixture of ingredients that are combined together to ensure that the product is effective, safe, smells good and has a pleasing texture. When organic ingredients are available, L’OCCITANE uses them in our products. For example, our Red Rice from Camargue is organically farmed, as is our Immortelle from Corsica. When it is possible to have a high concentration of organic ingredients, we also get the finished product organic certified by an independent organization. For instance, our new Organic Olive range is certified organic by Ecocert.

What do we mean by “organic”?

An organic ingredient is a natural ingredient that has been cultivated using organic farming methods – without the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, without using genetically modified organisms and is based on strict processes, including the traceability of ingredients back to the original producer.

Are organic beauty products better?

Organic beauty products are a good choice if you are looking for uncomplicated products containing the purest, most natural ingredients. However, some organic products can have strong fragrances, less absorbent textures and can contain allergens due to a high concentration of essential oils and floral waters. Often, to make effective and safe beauty products, it is necessary to combine natural ingredients with man-made ingredients such as preservatives, to make sure products do not get contaminated with bacteria. Due to the lack of preservatives, organic beauty products can also have shorter shelf lives than non-organic beauty products.

What are organically certified products?

A certified organic product must comply with strict regulations. L’OCCITANE uses Ecocert to certify our organic products. To qualify, products must contain a minimum of 95% natural ingredients with a minimum of 10% certified organic ingredients. Additionally, products cannot contain any synthetic fragrances, colorants, silicones or mineral oils. All our certified organic products are clearly labeled with the Ecocert logo to enable customers to make an informed choice.

What is Ecocert?

Ecocert is a highly regarded European certification and inspection body for organic beauty products. It is the similar to the USDA Organic certification in the United States.

Why are only some of our products organic?

We take a realistic approach to organic beauty products. It is not always safe or possible to use 100% organic ingredients.

• Organic ingredients are not always of high enough quality. For example, man-made preservatives are sometimes replaced by a high concentration of alcohol in competitors’ organic products, which can dry out skin. We always want our products to be effective first and foremost.
• We need a constant supply of ingredients to ensure we maintain a consistent product quality – often organic ingredients are not available in sufficient quantity.
• One of our key ingredients, shea butter, is harvested in the wild in Burkina Faso. However, very few farms in Africa have organic certifications. Therefore, we cannot denote these products as organic.
• Our focus is to reduce the use of preservatives as much as possible without impacting the effectiveness of the formula.
• With all new product launches, we strive to make use of organic ingredients wherever possible. When using an organic ingredient is not viable, we combine high concentrations of natural ingredients with safe and effective man-made ingredients which are common in the beauty industry.