I frequently say "organic certification is the ONLY way to know for sure that a company's organic claims are valid" and "if it isn't certified, it isn't organic," Inevitably when I do, I get someone saying that small businesses can't afford organic certification, and that just because they aren't certified doesn't mean they aren't organic.
I understand where they are coming from, however I disagree. Organic certification is the ONLY way consumers can know for sure that a company's organic claims are valid. There is too much greenwashing without it. Without independent 3rd party certification companies are free to lie, and many often do. Until we require that all chemicals used in personal care products be proven safe before they may be used, and until we eliminate all genetically modified ingredients, we need certification of the good to protect consumers.
Ideally it's the companies producing unsafe products that would have to pay the premium and label their products. But, unfortunatly, that's not how our system works. Rather than having to prove chemicals are truly safe, companies are free to use any chemical they want until it's been definitively proven to be harmful. And that's difficult to do.
While I'm a big believer in education of the public, and that's what I spend every day doing. It's just not enough to counter the greenwashing and big ad budgets of the large corporations. We need strong organic standards to give consumers confidence. Certification takes the responsibility away from consumers to be a chemist just to buy shampoo.
I understand that organic certification can be an added expense and is more difficult for small companies, but I'm not saying a brand new company should be certified right away. But, it should be a goal that the company intends to reach in the near future.
And while I'm a big supporter of small businesses, I don't give them any more trust when it comes to the safety of their products than I do large corporations. Your skin is your largest organ and what you put on it has huge health implications. I have seen way too many small formulators who aren't as knowledgeable as they should be about what constitutes a natural, organic or safe ingredient. Most are totally oblivious to which ingredients come from genetically modified crops. I want the products I buy from a small business to be certified just as much as I want large corporations certified. Not only does it verify their integrity, but it requires a certain level of knowledge and education of the formulator. Most small formulators are coming from a very good place, and have a good heart, but if they aren't properly educated they can misrepresent their product to people who are trying to protect their families and potentially do harm.
Also, while getting organic certification is an added expense, the real expense is in paying a premium for certified organic ingredients. And if you're doing that, and are a company of integrity, wouldn't you want 3rd party certification to prove that you are doing what you say you are doing? To prove your ingredients really are superior? To prove you're not one of the companies making false organic claims? Because frankly, the more companies out there making false organic claims, the worse it reflects upon companies that are truly organic. Organic certification is your proof of integrity in a sea of greenwashing.
I've also been told that if you want to know that a company is really using certified ingredients you should ask to see their certifications from their suppliers. While yes, you can do this, it's just not reasonable to expect general consumers to do that. Consumers just aren't going to ask every company with a product they are interested in to see every certification for every ingredient used. It's too big a burden to ask of consumers. I do think that store owners, writers, etc. should ask for this information when considering, recommending or writing about a product. But to ask consumers to do that...no, I don't think that's reasonable. And frankly, I don't think small companies really want every customer asking for that information before they purchase. It will take too much man-power away from what they really should be doing, making high quality organic products and educating the public about why they are important. The efforts to send ingredient certifications to everyone could become cost prohibitive.
Also, we must remember that organic certification certifies more than just the raw ingredients. That is only one part of the equation. It also certifies the transportation, the manufacturing processes, the packaging and the marketing. It has very strict criteria.
It's not easy to formulate effective products that qualify for organic certification to food-grade standards (which is what standards USDA and ACO certified organic meet), but it's certainly worth it.
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