UPDATE:

As of middle of March. the OCA and Dr. Bronner released shocking news about the personal care world.

Just last week the OCA is getting tough. Check out all this info. Seems 7th Gen, Method, and many others have gotten themselves in a bit of "hot water".

"Alert: Stop Bogus "Organic" Misbranding or Certification

To help remove some of this misleading organic labeling from the market, in late March 2008, the OCA and Dr.Bronner's filed Cease and Desist Letters to many of the bogus "organic" brands who utilize conventional and/or petrochemical material instead of organic material in making their main cleansing ingredients, some of whom even tested positive for the carcinogen 1,4-Dioxane in this study. Read the press release here and the Cease and Desist letter here.

Many of these companies misbrand “Organics” on their labels but consumers should look for products certified under the USDA like Dr. Bronner’s, because there are other weak so-called “organic” standards that a product can become "certified" under, which do not allow ethoxylation and 1,4-Dioxane, but allow hydrogenation and sulfation of conventional, not organic material, to make cleansing ingredients preserved with synthetic preservatives.

Two of these weak standards consumers should look out for are the Ecocert and OASIS standards; Ecocert actually allows certain petrochemicals in cleansing ingredients. Learn more here.

Surveys clearly indicate that when a product labels itself as "Organic" or is sold by a company with the word "Organic" in its brand name, consumers are willing to pay extra, because they believe that product does not contain cleansing ingredients made with conventional and/or petrochemical material, that may be contaminated with carcinogenic compounds like 1,4-Dioxane.

Surveys clearly indicate that when a product labels itself as "Organic" or is sold by a company with the word "Organic" in its brand name, consumers are willing to pay extra, because they believe that product does not contain cleansing ingredients made with conventional and/or petrochemical material, that may be contaminated with carcinogenic compounds like 1,4-Dioxane. "

http://www.organicconsumers.org/bodycare/DioxaneRelease08.cfm

thanks for your list and also for listing your sources.

It really aggrevates me that companies can use terms like "with organic ingredients" or "natural" and mislead consumers who don't know any better.

You always have to check the labels and know exactly what you're getting!

I am screaming in cyberspace. Nearly all of the products I use are on the fake list except Dr. Bronner's and Burt's Bees.  Thank you so much for the thoroughly-researched heads up, so we can support the companies with the best products and don't have to reinvent the wheel doing our own research.

Wow, even though I had read about the controversy regarding 1,4 Dioxane, I hadn't stopped to look at the ingredients of the organic body products I use. Thanks for researching and I'll take a look at your list when I go shopping!

For those interested in reading more, check out this EPA report listing the chemical as a "probable human carcinogen:"

http://www.epa.gov/iris/subst/0326.htm

Thank you Organicgal007!! I REALLY appreciate all the work and time it must have taken to do that research and write that piece.  You Rock!!  I am a new independent rep. (http://happyorganics.mionegroup.com) for miessence products, from the ONE Group company out of Australia, and I'm super excited to see that there is some good competition in the mix. The ONE Group brands (miessence, miVitality, and miEnviron) are all quite unique and amazing (too me at least).  This company is truly on the cusp of the organic revolution as they were the world's-first certified organic products back in Jan 2001.  The skin care and cosmetics, listed here, are quite lovely and the product line is expanding and will be developing over the next few years.  I am not sure about the Corporate Social Responsibility aspects of any of the other companies you have listed on your Real Organics list, but ONE Group gets big points for off-setting all of their production, manufacturing, and transportation with renewable energy credits and tree planting.  They also use minimal, recyclable or biodegradable packaging.  The products are consistently getting very high ratings by users on this site as well and I have personally used most of thier products which almost all get a HUGE thumbs up.

Again, thank you mucho.

-Emily

Couldn't agree with you more on the Misleading Companies...  I used to use Melaleuca and Shaklee ........... MANY years ago....... How these people can say "Organic" when they clearly have ingredients that are toxic is beyond me. Certifed Organic is the label to look for.......

HI

I use their Laundry Detergent at times, ( I  mostly use Soapnuts)  , and I like their Basic H, my husband uses it to wash his hands..... That is the only thing that cleans his greasy oily hands........

I hate the fact that they can misrepresent themselves like this.  It makes it hard for consumers to find the real natural and organic products out there.  I had no idea about some of them such as Method and Jason.  It can be so frustrating when you spend more money for products you think are better and safer and they turn out to not be.  Thanks so much for this list!  It will be helpful in my next shopping trip.

OrganicGal, I don't know if you are anyone else has made a wiki with this information, but this would be a great wiki topic that people can add to.

Organicgal - what do you think of Keys products?  I really like their Solar RX moisturizer, and their helpful "Therapy Facts" box (similar to the "Nutritional Facts" on food) is great because it states the total organic content and gives lots of detail about the quality of the ingredients (e.g. Shea Butter 5% (> 2.4% Fatty Acid Level)

Great catch about Eminence - it turns out that Eminence is copying the original Hungarian Supplier Ilsci, and now that supplier has to use a different name (ilike) in the USA because Eminence won't give up the trademark.

I was interested to know how much Zinc Oxide is used in MiEssence products as it is also on their ingredients list in many products along with iron oxides but they do not tell you the amounts.

Would you know Organicgal?  Are the amounts in these products harmful as well?

I just wanted to make a note about Burt's Bees- I was buying some lip balm from them today, and between the honey and pomegranate tubes, I saw "fragrance," "flavor," and "carmine."

So even if they plan to phase out synthetics, they haven't yet, and not all of their products are vegetarian (something that I tend to assume when I buy natural personal products).  Check your individual product labels!

Organicgal- where did you read that they would be phasing synthetics out?  Any idea how soon?  The FAQ on their website makes no mention of phasing out synthetics, and defends their usage.

I was referring to the makeup, not the Reflect?  Any ideas on those products?

 This list is a great resource. I'm going to have to print it out and keep it in my wallet. I'm always on the lookout for companies that are greenwashing, so this is very helpful.

Very curious about your inclusion of EO on y our "Faker" list -- they use very good ingredients, by hand, in small batches.

In fact, EO products consistently score well on the Environmental Working Group's Cosmetics Database -- nothing scores higher than a 5.

A Camomile & Honey conditioner they make that I like quite well contains these ingredients and scores a "4" -- mostly, it seems, because some people might be allergic to some of the components:

EO Organic Herbal Blend [Purified Water, Organic Chamomile* (Matricaria Recutita), Organic Aloe Vera* (Aloe Barbadensis), Organic Calendula* (Calendula Officinalis), Organic White Tea* (Camellia Sinensis), Organic Licorice (Glycyrrhiza Glabra) Root*, Organic Comfrey* (Symphytum Officinale), Organic Marshmallow* (Althaea Officinalis), and Organic Dandelion* (Taraxacum Officinale)], Behentrimonium Methosulfate (and) Cetearyl Alcohol, EO Essential Oil Blend, honey, coconut (coccus nucifera) oil, Amino Acids, Cetearyl Alcohol (and) Polysorbate 60, Behenalkonium Chloride (and) Cetyl Alcohol, Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium chloride, Disodium EDTA, Phenoxyethanol, Benzyl Alcohol, Potassium Sorbate.*Certified Organic

The shampoo - Camomile & Honey -- has these ingredients:

EO Organic herbal blend [purified water, Organic chamomile (matricaria recutita), Organic Aloe Vera (aloe barbadenis), Organic Calendula (calendula officinalis), Organic white tea (camellia siensis), Organic Licorice (glycyrrhiza glabra) root, Organic comfrey (symphytum offinale), Organic marshmallow (althaea officinalis), Organic dandelion (taraxacum officinale)], Cocamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine**, Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate**, Sodium Coco-Sulfate**, Polysorbate 60, EO Essential Oil Blend, Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E), Retinyl Palmitate (Vitmain A), honey, witch hazel, magnesium sulfate, Citric Acid, Amino Acids, Disodium EDTA, Phenoxyethanol, Benzyl Alcohol, Potassium Sorbate.*Certified Organic **Coconut Cleansing Complex

Check out the EO Products Statement on the use of the term "organic" in body care products.

Read through the site -- they base their product charter on 5 NO’s: NO artificial color (only colors from botanicals, NO synthetic fragrance (only essential oils), NO sodium laurel/laureth sulfates or cocamide DEA  (only greener surfactant alternatives), NO Propylene Glycol, NO Diazolidinyl Urea, NO Talc.

Could you please tell me what you judged to be "fake" or unsafe about their products?  I've actually talked with the founder at GreenFestival and have been using these products for years (when I'm not using Apple Cider Vinegar, but that's another entry).

Thanks!

They admit it themselves that they are using SYNTHETIC ingredients. To be on my REAL list companies aren't using synthetics. Why call yourself all natural if you also include synthetics and chemicals or chemically derived ingredients? IMO that's not natural.

Just because a company claims they don't use well known "avoided" ingredients, they often cheat by using other lesser known ingredients that are just as bad as the common ones.

For example, they don't use parabens but they do use Phenoxyethanol which (since you are using the cosmetic data base site as part of your defense) here's what they rate Pheno as (that's a lot of check marks that I would want to avoid in my body care products)

PHENOXYETHANOL

Fragrance Ingredient; Preservative  

SCORE

	4	moderate hazard
	72%	data gap
(why scores have changed)

Also listed as

ETHANOL, 2-PHENOXY-; ETHYLENE GLYCOL MONOPHENYL ETHER; 2-HYDROXYETHYL PHENYL ETHER; 2-PHENOXYETHANOL; 2-PHENOXYETHYL ALCOHOL; PHENOXYTOL; 2-PHENOXY- ETHANOL; ETHANOL, 2PHENOXY

 

This ingredient:
	Cancer
	Developmental/reproductive toxicity
	Violations, Restrictions & Warnings
	Allergies/immunotoxicity
	Contamination concerns
	Other strong concerns for this ingredient: Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs), Occupational hazards
	Other moderate concerns for this ingredient: Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)
	Lesser or emerging concerns for this ingredient: Neurotoxicity, Endocrine disruption, Data gaps

 

 

Thanks for asking and letting me expand on why I put them on my Fakers List.

I do commend EO for using organic ingredients! This is good, but that is negated once you throw synthetics into the mix. (IMO)

So, you're looking at EVERY product that a company produces as your basis for judgment?

I only purchase products that have ingredients I recognize -- I tend to stay away from the baddies.  I think most people are pretty good about that, too.

Perhaps it is more helpful to provide a list of the worst ingredients to avoid -- and note the companies that use them -- rather than rule out all products by a company because a few of their products use synthetic ingredients?

Also, in the spirit of activist bloggers -- have you communicated with them on this subject?

More than half (47 of 89) of EO's products have a score greater than 3, which Organicgal says is her general criterion for a faker.  If that's a fair criterion, then I think it's fair to call EO a faker.

I really don't know what I believe when it comes to health and beauty products. I worked in HBA for over 10 years and still know several people in the biz. One develops products for well known companies. What I do know is that parabens serve a very important purpose in these products. It's used as a preservative to ensure that your beloved face cream (or whatever) will not start growing micro organisms (helps prevent mircobial contamination). Has anyone here done research on micro organisms and their effect on your health? Not good. I've been told that the "natural" counterparts to parabens are not very stable. Sure ... companies can produce products without parabens but at what cost?? Are you positive that your "all natural/organic" products are safe to use? Are you sure they will remain stable once you bring them home and they sit around for some time? I'm sure that the science will eventually catch up but are we sure it's there yet? There is no current scientific evidence that parabens cause cancer but we do know scientifically how bad micro organisms can be. Having said that, I do use Weleda Baby on my two young ones (Weleda is a company with a long history of making these products ... if I am going down this road I feel safer using a product from a company like them).

I love this list.  My mom and I just started a new company Called Posergy, and we Have All Natural Personal care Products (some Organic) I was wondering what I needed to do to get on your list.

Thanks Liz

Our web site will be up and running in about a week.

I just thought I would post this new information from Shaklee. They are removing parabens from all of their products. I know you have them on your Fake Natural list. Not sure if this new information would change that ranking.

We guarantee unconditional safety

We start with nature. Shaklee scientists search the world over to source the finest natural ingredients. Then we conduct over 350 tests on every single new ingredient for heavy metals, pesticides, or any of hundreds of other harmful contaminants. And we continue to conduct over 80,000 quality tests annually to guarantee the purity and safety of each and every product.

That’s why we are absolutely sure of this: Every Shaklee product is 100% safe to use. Guaranteed.

We Guarantee Unconditional Safety:
Just Some of Shaklee's NO List:

Please add Oracle Organics (www.oracleorganics.com) to your list of organics.  They are the real thing as I'm sure your research will support and not to mention great products.  It's such a pity that the body care industry is not regulated but you can look for symbols like the leaping bunny (no testing on animals) or those of other agencies that certify organic products.  Otherwise, it's Buyer Beware!

This list is amazing!  Love the way you put them into the various categories... definatly good for a wiki article - will certainly use this research you have worked so hard on for shopping choices.