THE ORGANIC TRUTH

Unfortunately the 100% organic claim (ingredients which have not used any pesticides or fertilisers in the growing of the plant, flower or produce) made by certain haircare product companies, has gained momentum solely as a niche marketing tool to suggest such formulations are somehow safer, more healthy or offer enhanced environment credentials than otherwise. In short, these companies are saying their products are 100% organic as a way of gaining a marketing edge over other companies, but by and large they are misleading the salon owner, hairdressers and the consumer.

Many of these companies are not really selling or marketing ‘organic' or ‘natural’ products, they are simply selling and marketing the words, ‘organic' and natural.' These companies are jumping on the natural/organic bandwagon in order to cash in on the consumer demand for organic products driven by the food industry. Another pedlar of misinformation is unfortunately pedalled through blogs and social networks by people or businesses with vested interests rather than through rigorous scientific premise. 

Right now the ACCC (Australian Competition and Consumer Commission) is currently cracking down on the myriad of companies who claim (lie to consumers) that their products are 100% Organic. *See info below on one company who was recently fined. 

Although the term ‘organic’ has now flowed out from the food/farming/agriculture industry to the cosmetics, beauty and personal care industry, the term ‘organic’ is for the mane a term used for food industry. There are many ingredients that are totally safe and approved by the ACCC and NICNAS that are impossible to produce organically and therefore do not exist organically. Some Organic Certifiers who have popped up in the personal care/beauty industry require only 30% to 70% organic ingredients to be able to label or call a product organic and then demand large annual monetary fee’s to use their logo… while the truth is the products are NOT 100% organic and to our knowledge it is not possible to make 100% organic products. Eg: Water for instance is not organic and every product has water in it so it is therefore not possible for a product to be 100% organic. It’s also important to note only raw materials which come from agriculture (plants) can be potentially grown organically and there are many other ingredients in Haircare products which are not produced or made from an agriculture source and therefore can not be classified. 

Unfortunately some Hair Care and Skin Care product companies are luring consumers by taking advantage of the increasing demand for all things organic and natural in the food industry. To date there is no organic policy for the personal care industry and the use of the word organic on the labels of personal care products is not held up to the same rigorous standards as organic labels on food. In America the FDA does not have a definition of ‘Organic' in terms of organic cosmetics. FDA regulates cosmetics under the authority of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act) and the Fair Packaging and Labelling Act (FPLA).

There have been multiple criticisms regarding organic food and organic marketing practices. Scientists at the University of Washington did a test of the urine of children who are on organic food diets and children who are on conventional food diets. The result was children on organic food diets ‘ urine had a median level of pesticide byproducts and only one-sixth of children on conventional food diets. However, at the same time French, British and Swedish government food agencies have all concluded that there was no scientific proof that organic food is safer or has more nutrition than conventional foods.

There really needs to be a balance between product effectiveness and organic or natural content. iRange Formulations ethos is to put effectiveness first ensuring each product performs and achieves results on the hair. This is done by using key high quality, approved ingredients with proven scientific results. We couple this belief with our goal to use naturally derived, cruelty free, vegan friendly, safe ingredients. All of the ingredients we use to formulate and manufacture products for our customers are safe for consumers, workers and the environment, whilst still being able to achieve results hairdressers and consumers require. 

Each ingredient we use to manufacture products is approved for use in personal care products (Cosmetics/Haircare) and are subject to a range of regulatory controls by the Australian Consumer & Competition Commission (ACCC) and the National Industrial Chemicals Notification & Assessment Scheme (NICNAS). 

Our company follows the strictest manufacturing procedures, uses totally safe and approved ingredients, including natural ingredients and some organic ingredients to manufacture all our products. Unfortunately we are not able to manufacture 100% certified organic products or produce the certification. There may be specialist manufacturers out there who can manufacture 100% certified organic products (whom may be willing to stretch the truth to their customers). 

Organic or Natural is also about what is NOT included and none of our products contain parabens, triethanolamine, dmdm hydanation, propylene glycol, petrochemicals, dioxanesls, sodium lauryl sulfate (Although it is important to understand that a lot of the hype about sulphates is fear-mongering, plain and simple. They definitely don’t cause cancer and they are not toxic).

*The company behind popular baby shampoos and body washes, Gaia Skin Naturals, has been fined for making misleading claims that its products are organic. Gaia has been fined for describing some baby products including a Natural Baby bath and body was as organic. Gaia described its Natural Baby bath and body wash, baby shampoo and baby moisturiser as pure, natural and organic, but the products contain two synthetic chemical preservatives. The company paid a $37,800 fine after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission issued the company three infringement notices over the alleged false or misleading claim. While companies do not legally need organic certification to label their products ‘organic’, ACCC Commissioner Sarah Court said businesses must make sure they are not misleading or deceiving customers with that description.