National Organic Standards Board Votes to Crack Down on Organic Personal Care Cheaters

National Organic Standards Board Votes to Crack Down on Organic Personal Care
Cheaters

Consumer Boycott of 'Organic' Cheater Brands Begins

WASHINGTON, Nov. 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In a milestone victory resulting
from years of work by the US organic community to address known fraud in the
organic marketplace, the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) has voted 12
to 1 for the USDA National Organic Program (NOP) to enforce the law for
organic personal care just like they do for organic food. This would mean
shampoos and other body care products that claim to be organic, but are not
certified, would be forced to drop the organic claims made on their products
or improve formations to meet organic standards.

"I'm really pleased by the NOSB's recommendation," says Ronnie Cummins,
Executive Director of the Organic Consumers Association (OCA). "Brands that
are using the word organic improperly should be on notice that USDA
enforcement is imminent. Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan has said that she
is going to get 'tough on crime' in the organic industry. At the NOSB meeting
this week, National Organic Program director Miles McEvoy announced a 'new age
of enforcement' in organic. I expect them to make organic cosmetics fraud a
top priority. In the meantime, retailers should start cleaning up their body
care aisles. Whole Foods Market, for one, was a big supporter of the NOSB
recommendation."

At the end of September, the OCA promised to announce the names of brands that
have cheated consumers for years and recommend honest organic brands in order
to promote certified organic personal care. As of today, the Boycott/Buycott
is in effect.

Major Brands OCA Will Boycott:
Desert Essence Organics Body Care, Organics by Noah's Naturals, Giovanni
Organic Cosmetics, Nature's Gate Organics, Amazon Organics, JASON Pure Natural
and Organic, and Avalon Organic

Major Brands With USDA Organic Seal and OCA Will Buycott:
Alteya, Amrita, Baby Bear Shop, Badger Balm, Buddha Nose, Dr. Bronner's Magic
Soaps, Earth Mama and Angel Baby, Kimberly Organics, Little Angel, Mercola,
Motherlove, ONEgroup, Organicare, Origins Organics, Purely Shea, Rainwater
Organic Lotion, Rose Tattoo Aftercare, SoCal Cleanse, Seasons of the Soul,
Sensibility Soaps/Nourish, Terressentials, Trillium, Vermont Soap

Dan Giacomini, the only NOSB member who voted against the personal care
recommendations did so because he felt the board was looking at things in a
limited way. He wanted to address fraud in all product sectors, such as dry
cleaning and not simply personal care.

The Coming Clean Campaign has been working to clean up the natural and organic
personal care industry for the past six years. To view the Certification
Commitment Contract; the NOSB Recommendation or for further information on the
Coming Clean Campaign, go to:
http://www.organicconsumers.org/bodycare/index.cfm

SOURCE Organic Consumers Association

Alexis Baden-Mayer, +1-202-744-0853, alexis@organicconsumers.org, or Ronnie
Cummins, +1-218-349-3836, ronnie@organicconsumers.org, both of the Organic
Consumers Association