I prefer recommending ethical skincare as I feel better using products that respect nature and help local communities. Is sometimes sustainable better than organic? To differentiate the benefits of both, please read below.
Sustainable Skincare Helps Local Communities
The Cradle-To-Cradle certification follows rigorous independent assessment by the Environmental Protection and Encouragement Agency (EPEA) to ensure that ingredients meet ecological and health criteria based on the Cradle to Cradle Design Concept (C2C).
- The ingredients must be either continually reusable or biodegradable and renewable.
- They must be healthy for users and for the environment.
- Their production and use must also offer social and economic benefits for its producers.
For beauty and personal care products, the Cradle-To- Cradle concept means that ingredients are extracted from natural materials, or, “biological nutrients,” that are given back to nature after usage to become part of the ecological cycle.
Aveda has been the first beauty company to receive Cradle to Cradle certification for four botanical ingredients: sandalwood oil from Australia, rose oil and lavender oil from Bulgaria and uruku from Brazil. The first Aveda ingredients to meet or exceed the stringent standards of Cradle to Cradle certification are:
– organic uruku sustainably harvested by the Yawanawa people in the Brazilian Amazon;
– rose and lavender essential oils grown and processed on a sustainable organic farm in Bulgaria;
– sandalwood oil which is wild harvested and processed by the Mardu peoples of Western Australia.
Each of the four key ingredients is a “biological nutrient,” grown or harvested sustainably. The methods used by the cultivators and collectors are traditional and assure the long-term sustained production of their ingredients.
Uruku, rose and lavender are grown to certified organic standards; sandalwood is wild harvested by methods that meet the standards of an indigenous raw materials certification developed by the Songman Circle of Wisdom, an indigenous group developed to oversee the sustainable production of Australian sandalwood.
Aveda’s numerous corporate and social responsibility associations include CERES (Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies), ISO (International Organization for Standardization), Coop-America/Green Business Network, SVN (Social Venture Network), BSR (Business for Social Responsibility), Environmental Grant Makers, American Botanical Association, Organic Trade Association, Cosmebio, National Recycling Coalition, and the U.S. Green Building Council.
To read more about Aveda program, please go to http://www.c2cportal.net/2010/06/aveda-cradle-to-cradle-and-paradigm.html
ORGANIC SKINCARE
There are many organic certification bodies for facial skincare and understanding of the different types of certifications and their guidelines makes your choice easier. There is no government requirement for organic certification nor is there global harmonization of standards.
CERTIFICATION ORGANIZATIONS AND THEIR STANDARDS
- The minimum percentage of organic content required within a product
- The percentage of synthetic ingredients acceptable under certification
- Ingredients that are excluded from use in products
- The manufacturing processes which can be used in the creation of ingredients and the end product
- Whether water can or cannot be included in the calculation for the organic percentage of the product
Part of the requirements also include the regular auditing by a third-party organic certifier of both the manufacturers ingredients and processes to ensure it is compliant with all the rules of the certification standard.
There are a few general guidelines which apply to most certifications such as
- No animal testing
- No ingredients derived from an animal unless produced without harm to the animal eg honey and beeswax
- Avoidance of GM ingredients
- Consideration for how the ingredients are grown and harvested
- Environmentally friendly packaging requirements
Today there are a number of international organizations with organic skincare certification standards. Below, we have compiled summaries of the six most commonly seen on the shelves.
- Organic – must contain at least 95 percent organically produced ingredients.
- Made with Organic Ingredients – must contain at least 70 percent organic ingredients.
- 100% Organic – must contain only organically produced ingredients (excluding water and salt).
- Organic – must contain at least 95 percent organically produced ingredients (excluding water and salt). Limited amounts of synthetics are allowed.
- Made with Organic Ingredients must contain at least 70 percent organic ingredients, but cannot display the USDA seal on packaging.
- Organic Cosmetics (3 stars) – guarantees at least 95 percent of the natural ingredients stem from controlled organic production.
- Natural with organic portion (2 stars) – guarantees at least 70 percent of the natural ingredients stem from organic production.
- Natural Cosmetics (1 star) – requires 100 percent certified pure natural and derived natural (natural origin) plus some limited nature-identical*
ECOCERT
EcoCert requires a minimum of 95 percent natural origin as a baseline entry. Water can be included in its calculation of organic content. Up to 5% of synthetic preservatives are allowed eg. Dehydroacetic acid and Sodium hydroxide.
- Natural standard – A minimum of 50% of all plant-based ingredients in the formula and a minimum of 5% of all ingredients by weight must come from organic farming.
- Natural / Organic standard A minimum of 95% of all plant-based ingredients in the formula and a minimum of 10% of all ingredients by weight must come from organic farming.
BDIH
- COSMOS Organic – must contain at least 95 percent physically processed agro-ingredients must be organically produced, while a minimum of 20 percent of total ingredients by weight must be organic with exception for wash off products which is 10%.
- COSMOS Natural – may contain natural/ organic ingredients, but does not allow active marketing of organic content.
*Nature identical substances may only be used when natural substances cannot be recovered from nature using reasonable technical effort. Nature identical ingredients are 100 percent identical in composition to their counterparts in nature, but have been created in the laboratory to ensure stability, safety, and sustainability.
Source: http://www.beingcontent.com/knowledge.htm/content-approved/organic-skincare-certifications