Natrue and Natural Products Association Join Forces

European certifier of ‘natural’ cosmetics Natrue has signed a mutual recognition agreement with the Natural Products Association (NPA) in the US, meaning that products complying with the standards of either of these bodies will not have to undergo the full certification process again when they wish to market their products across the Atlantic. Natrue also signed an equivalency agreement with Quality Assurance International (QAI) certifiers earlier in the year.

I am not Natrue’s biggest fan. Their standards are abysmally weak
 (see here). The NPA standards have some good points (such as prohibition of ammonium- and sodium lauryl sulphate, PEG compounds, sarcosinates, cocomide DEA, parabens etc), but intensive chemical processes such as fat-splitting, esterification and hydrogenation are permitted with toxic metal catalysts such as nickel and palladium, remnants of which could possibly be present in the final formulation.

The standards also discuss products branded as natural being made with at least 95 percent natural ingredients, but this wouldn’t necessarily mean that those ingredients were organic, although thankfully they are not claiming to be organic.

I know I keep on harping on about it but I still recommend the USDA standards, which are more rigorous – consisting of hundreds of pages as opposed to the NPA’s 8 page standards, which go into little detail.

It concerns me that manufacturers of pseudo-natural products are banding together in a bid to promulgate mediocre and in many cases dire organic and natural certification standards. I am aware that natural doesn’t automatically mean inert and indeed some natural ingredients have demonstrated toxic activity, but I do have a problem with manufacturers duping consumers, who understandably believe that a product labelled as ‘natural’ or ‘organic’ or features one or both of these terms in the brand name, is actually as the manufacturer would suggest.

In my opinion brands need to tell the truth, so if they are marketing a hybrid product containing synthetic and natural chemicals, they should under no circumstances advertise their product as natural or organic. I feel sorry for small businesses that are honestly endeavouring to sell genuinely organic products because the market is being swamped with greenwashers, who couldn’t give a fig whether or not consumers are being sold a lie.

Tips for consumers

• Cut down dramatically on your use of beauty and personal care products, we don’t need most of them anyway and they burn a hole in our pockets. My partner is 46, he’s never used a moisturising cream, cleanser etc in his whole life and he doesn’t look a day over 30. Nutrition is key. All the cosmetics in the world are not going to make up for an unhealthy lifestyle. If you’re not prepared to put the effort into looking after your body, then be prepared to accept the consequences.
• Stick to the basics as much as possible.
• If you experience an adverse reaction to a product, whether it’s a conventional or ‘natural’ cosmetic, stop using it immediately. Itchy, stinging skin is not a sign of the product working.
• Don’t believe the marketing hype. Genuine and honest organic beauty brands don’t brag about how their product miraculously de-wrinkles your face and body. No beauty product can do this, regardless of what they might say.
• If you are going to use beauty products, opt for those certified by the USDA or if you live in the UK opt for products certified at least 95 percent organic by bodies such as the Soil Association.
• Alternatively make your own cosmetic products in the comfort of your home. By doing this you will know exactly what ingredients are going into your cosmetics. If you wouldn’t eat processed food, why apply heavily processed cosmetics to your skin?

See Cosmeticsdesign-europe.com  for more info about the equivalency agreement.