by Susan Hibberd

Created on: December 29, 2007

We all know the benefits of organic foods, so surely organic make-up is equally as good for us? WARNING: THIS IS NOT THE CASE! Read on...

Unlike the food we eat, there are NO regulations covering the cosmetics industry.

Earlier this year, the independent group Organic Farmers and Growers extended its remit from looking solely at foodstuffs, to a review of the cosmetics industry. They have introduced new standards which should help to ensure that cosmetics which are labeled as 'organic' are truly organic and have been subjected to minimal processing.

This means that products you have been buying up until now have not been covered by any regulations and could have anything in them!

The standard also includes a strict policy on animal testing, which has previously been at the manufacturers discretion. There is also an argument that only cosmetics made from completely new sources of ingredients can be certified as not tested on animals as many of the base ingredients have been tested in this way in the past. Many cosmetics labeled as free from animal testing include primary ingredients which have been.

Organic products are also allowed to have non-organic preservatives in them, which would go against many people's belief that they are pure. They are also allowed to use non-organic materials in the production process eg to start a reaction between two ingredients.

Organic make-up is often a lot more expensive than 'normal' brands, which lead the buyer to believe that the quality is higher. If, as we have seen above, the organic provenance cannot be guaranteed by the manufacturer, you might as well buy the other brands.

Information based on
http://www.cosmeticsdesign-europe.com/news/ng.asp? id=75580-organic-farmers-and-growers-organic

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