Greenwashers may be subject to increasing litigation

Greenwashers beware. According to an article published in a legal journal greenwashing brands may increasingly face litigation. Lawyers Victoria Davis Lockard and Josh Becker from US firm Alston & Bird warn that eco-fraud is ‘the latest flavor of consumer product class litigation’ – lawsuits where multiple plaintiffs take action against a product that has failed to deliver on its advertising claims.

Lockard and Becker claim that not only may the courts be more sympathetic to an environmental cause than exaggerated efficacy claims, but the plaintiffs in eco-fraud cases will have powerful allies in the form of environmental Read more

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
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Natrue and QAI Work on Recognition Agreement

Natrue, an interest grouping of international cosmetic manufacturers, who have developed their own ‘natural’ and ‘organic’ standards, are working on a mutual recognition agreement with Quality Assurance International (QAI) in the US, to ensure that products complying with the Natrue or NSF/ANSI 305 ‘made with organic’ standard will be recognised by both bodies. The alliance is to cut costs and save time for manufacturers, according to the Natrue General Secretary.

Natrue was launched last year and 120 products have been certified already. Natrue represent cosmetic companies such as Lavera, Logona, Primavera, Read more

The Organic Greenwashing Game: Part One

So, you’ve purchased a raft of delightfully fragrant and attractively packaged beauty products, lured by the promise of natural botanicals, but are you being conned? 

We are becoming increasingly enamoured with beauty brands marketed as ‘natural’ and ‘organic,’ understandably anticipating that we are purchasing something that has undergone minimal processing in the period between being plucked from the earth and ploughed into a cosmetic formulation. According to market analysts Organic Monitor global sales of ‘natural’ and ‘organic’ cosmetics are increasing by over $1 billion a year, and it is forecast Read more

Terressentials: Obstacles to Natural Beauty

 Diana Kaye and James Hahn, Founders of organic beauty brand Terressentials, explain the story behind their company and expose the flaws in the ‘natural’ beauty industry.

“Diana found herself highly reactive to synthetic chemicals after her successful, but highly toxic, experimental chemotherapy treatment for cancer almost twenty years ago. In researching how the cancer originated and how we could keep it at bay, at first we thought, we’ll just use natural products from a health food store. But, when we scrutinized the ingredients in those Read more