Govt. Panel Takes On ‘Organic’ Claim Misuse

The National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) has voted for a crackdown on the cosmetic industry’s use of the word ‘organic,’ according to Cosmeticsdesign.com. The NOSB is a government appointed panel that works to reach consensus within the organic community regarding regulatory decisions. The panel represents the views of those working in the organic sector as well as consumers.

The Organic Consumers Association (OCA) claims that many products using ‘organic’ in their description and product title are not certified. The OCA has announced a boycott on brands which have been misusing the term organic, including, but not limited to: Organics by Noah’s Naturals, Nature’s Gate Organics, Amazon Organics and Avalon Organics.

The NOSB are now calling on the USDA’s National Organic Program to enforce the proper use of term organic, a measure already in practice within the food sector. NOSB proposes that only the USDA organic certification would be recognized, while certifying a product to one of the competing standards such as the NSF’s ‘Made With Organic’ standard or the Oasis standard, would not allow the company to use the term ‘organic’. The “crackdown” would make any use of the word ‘organic’ on personal care products and cosmetics illegal without USDA certification.

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Click here for the full list of products on OCA’s boycott list

Click here for more information on NOSB