Though the US may not regulate the cosmetics industry as rigorously as Europe, things are moving in the right direction.  On November 5th the USDA National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) voted 12 to 1 in favor of heavier scrutiny by the USDA National Organic Program (NOP) when it comes to organic labeling by personal care product manufacturers, holding them to the same guidelines as food producers.

The USDA holds strict standards for organic food products but up to this point cosmetics and personal care products have been very loosely regulated in the US.  The new recommendation will require cosmetic manufacturers who use the term “organic” on their labels to either meet certain requirements, reformulate products that do not meet these requirements or cease use of the organic labeling.

This issue has been at the top of the list for the Organic Consumers Association (OCA) for some time now with their Coming Clean Campaign.  The OCA has started a Boycott/Buycott which lists brands who claim to be, but are not truly, organic.  The Buycott promotes those brands who are actually certified organic.  Prior to intitiating the boycott, the OCA gave manufacturers a chance to step up to the plate and do the right thing by pledging to either meet organic standards or cease false organic labeling.  Following are the companies who refused and are now being boycotted:

Amazon Organics, Avalon Organics, Desert Essence Organics, Earth’s Best Organic, Giovanni Organic Cosmetics, Head Organics, JASON Pure Natural and Organic, Nature’s Gate Organics, Organics by Noah’s Naturals

To view a list of companies with products that meet the USDA Organic Standard visit the follow this link.

Image credit:  oceandesetoiles at Flickr.com, Creative Commons license.