Greenwashing is rife in the health and beauty industry.
This 2017 investigation into greenwashing, produced a league table of products that were not certified as organic but were using the term 'organic' on their labels.
As part of the report, consumer research on this topic provides clear evidence that people feel misled by this. We called on brands to come clean about beauty labelling and use the terms 'organic' or 'natural' responsibly, or not at all.
The organic statement stands out on the front of the bottle but it only refers to one ingredient, the argan oil. Only a tiny amount of organic argan oil is actually included in the product. The product also contains five ingredients from the Terrible Ten and contains one additional ingredient that would not be permitted in a certified organic product.
Terrible Ten Ingredients:
PEG-40
PEG-200
Polyquaternium-10
PEG-7
Polyquaternium-7
+ 1 ingredient not permitted in a certified organic product.
The label states ORGANIC in large letters which suggests it applies to the whole product, not just the aloe vera, which is the main ingredient.
This product includes one ingredient from the Terrible Ten and five additional ingredients which would not be permitted in a certified organic product.
Terrible Ten Ingredients:
Retinyl palmitate
+ 5 ingredients not permitted in a certified organic product.
The label states ORGANIC in large letters which suggests it applies to the whole product, not just the aloe vera, which is the main ingredient.
This product does not include ingredients from the Terrible Ten but contains four ingredients which would not be permitted in a certified organic product.
Organic appears prominently twice on the front of the packaging for this product.
This product does not include ingredients from the Terrible Ten but contains two ingredients which would not be permitted in a certified organic product.
Terrible Ten Ingredients:
None, but contains 2 which would not be permitted in a certified organic product.
Organic appears prominently twice on the front of the packaging but this product contains a large proportion of salt which cannot be certified organic.
This product does not include ingredients from the Terrible Ten but contains two ingredients which would not be permitted in a certified organic product.
The label states ‘With organic fruits’ but no further information is given about which fruit or how much.
Also includes a logo which shows ‘Certified Organic Ingredients’.
The brand name and the term ‘Natural Skincare’ suggest the entire product is natural, but it contains an artificial ingredient which is also one of the Terrible Ten.
Also contains one additional ingredient which would not be permitted in a certified organic product.
Terrible Ten Ingredients:
Polysorbate 20
+ 1 ingredient which would not be permitted in a certified organic product.
