Organic beauty brands sued 'for not putting enough organic ingredients in products'
As reported in the Daily Mail Reporter
An environmental group has filed a lawsuit against 26 cosmetic companies over claims that products were falsely labelled as organic.
The Center for Environmental Health's lawsuit alleges that a large number of products, including shampoo and face wash, do not contain enough organic ingredients to warrant the label.
It says that the brands, which include major names like Jason and British drugstore giant Boots, are violating a California law that requires all organic products to contain at least 70 per cent natural ingredients grown without pesticides or chemicals.
The organisation's executive director, Michael Green, told how a simple reading of the ingredients list on the back of many products found that many fell short of the California Organic Products Act of 2003.
He said: 'For years, organic advocates have called on personal care companies to fix their improper 'organic' labels, but our recent purchasing shows the industry is still rife with unsubstantiated organic claims.'
He added that the aim of the CEH was to encourage companies to use organic ingredients, and ensure that consumers can trust organic labels to be meaningful and consistent.
The case was filed at Alameda County Superior Court last week.
It is the latest in a string of disputes over the labelling of organic cosmetics, and the second time the CEH has taken action against Hain Celestial Group Inc, which owns the Jason and Avalon Organics brands.
It sued the company in May over the labelling of a face wash.
The suit claimed that of the 19 ingredients listed on the Jason Ester-C Super-C Cleanser Facial Wash container, only one was actually organic.
There has been growing confusion and debate over what constitutes organic and a growing number of false labelling lawsuits.
Legal disputes over organic labelling initially targeted food grower in 2007. The next year, cosmetic products claiming to have organic ingredients were targeted. None of those lawsuits have been resolved.
The federal government does not have organic labelling rules for cosmetic products. But the U.S. Department of Agriculture has approved California standards.
The following brands/products have been sued for not containing enough organic ingredients:
Parnevu T-Tree No Lye Conditioning Relaxer System (Advantage Research Laboratories Inc.,)
Collagen & Almond Enriching Moisturizing Lotion (Aubrey Organics Inc)
Organic Aromatherapy Facial Cleanser (Beauty Without Cruelty/Lotus Brands Inc)
Boots Amazon Forest Brazil Nut & Vanilla Body Wash (Boots Retail USA Inc)
Out of Africa Handwash Tea Tree with Essential Oil (California Inside & Out Inc)
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