Title: Why use natural magnificence and wellness merchandise?
Do you know that merchandise could be referred to as ‘natural’ and have as little as 1% natural components? That is the place The Soil Affiliation steps in, with their natural certification which ensures yow will discover magnificence and wellness merchandise you may belief. In honour of Natural Magnificence Week, we caught up with them to find why licensed natural magnificence and wellbeing is so necessary.
What’s licensed natural magnificence and wellbeing?
Natural refers to a system of farming that works with nature, by prohibiting the usage of synthetic pesticides and fertilisers. Within the meals trade “natural” is a legally regulated time period, but no such laws exists for utilizing this label for magnificence and wellbeing merchandise. Because of this corporations can legally label merchandise as “natural” even when they include simply 1% natural components!
This is the reason the Soil Affiliation helped to develop the worldwide COSMOS commonplace for Natural cosmetics, so customers have pointers they’ll belief. In a COSMOS licensed product, 95% of the components grown on farms after which bodily processed, for instance by drying and crushing, have to be natural. We even have our Personal Label Well being & Magnificence commonplace for non-cosmetic wellbeing merchandise (reminiscent of candles, lubricants, and cleansing merchandise) that has related necessities, and the identical thorough checks from farm to the completed product. In search of merchandise with the Soil Affiliation brand due to this fact ensures the product meets the gold commonplace of sustainability.
Why is natural so necessary for magnificence in addition to meals?
The identical arguments for natural meals apply to natural magnificence and wellbeing- it’s a system of farming that’s higher for the planet and the individuals and animals residing on it. As magnificence merchandise are a luxurious, we ought to be particularly cautious that their manufacturing doesn’t destroy nature and making certain that they’re licensed natural is a technique of doing this.
Natural farming gives many options to the present ecological points we face, together with local weather change. Soils on natural farms retailer twice as a lot carbon in them than non-organic[1], protecting extra of this out of the environment. By prohibiting the usage of nitrogen fertilisers- that are created from fossil fuels- natural farms additionally use much less power than non-organic[2].
This isn’t to say the superb protections natural farming provides to biodiversity. The prohibition of synthetic pesticides, herbicides and fungicides means biodiversity is way greater on natural farms than non-organic. On common, natural farms are residence to 50% extra plant, insect, and hen life[3]. We depend on bugs like bees, moths, butterflies, and others to pollinate our crops. If we wish to guarantee crop progress can proceed to feed us- not to mention present for our magnificence products- such pollinators should be protected, and natural is the way in which to take action.
Why is biodiversity a scorching subject this yr?
Sadly, our biodiversity, notably insect life, is declining. Over 40% of insect species are declining and a 3rd are endangered, and intensive farming (as a consequence of the usage of pesticides) has been recognized as the primary trigger[4].
The problem of biodiversity loss has been introduced into the general public consciousness extra this yr by the UK Authorities asserting that they’re planning to loosen up the ban on neonicotinoids. These are pesticides which are notably dangerous to insect populations, reminiscent of bees. Only a single teaspoon of neonicotinoid pesticide is sufficient to kill 1.25 billion bees[5]. It’s not arduous to see how this rest may wreak huge environmental havoc. The Soil Affiliation had been instrumental in first getting these pesticides banned within the EU in 2017, and choosing licensed natural magnificence and wellbeing merchandise is only one method you may guarantee your purchases don’t go in direction of supporting such dangerous practises.
Are there some components that can’t be natural licensed?
Sure, as “natural” can solely seek advice from components which were grown and farmed through the natural methodology. This implies many components which are present in magnificence and wellbeing merchandise can’t be natural licensed. The COSMOS commonplace states that a minimum of 20% of the general components in a product have to be natural, and the rationale this may increasingly appear low is as a result of water constitutes a lot of the formulation in lots of magnificence merchandise. Water, which isn’t grown, can’t be natural. Nonetheless, as defined above, the usual stipulates that 95% of any components that come from agriculture have to be grown organically.
There are additionally many pure minerals, together with clay and salt, which are generally present in magnificence merchandise. Once more, these can’t be classed as “natural” as a result of they don’t seem to be grown. Nonetheless, we additionally certify to the COSMOS Pure commonplace which covers these kind of components. Just like the Natural commonplace, COSMOS Pure ensures that any pure supplies are sourced sustainably.
Is one certification higher than one other?
COSMOS Natural is an internationally recognised commonplace, which provides it leverage over different requirements that exist. We developed the usual in affiliation with different European certification our bodies. Nonetheless, Soil Affiliation Certification is the one UK physique that certifies cosmetics to this commonplace.
It’s actually some of the rigorous requirements on the market in the case of sustainability. It’s not only for making certain the agricultural components in a product are organic- the entire manufacturing course of is inspected.
By way of the product formulation, we prohibit sure components along with certifying those we do allow. People who we don’t permit embrace parabens, phthalates, and artificial plastics and microplastics. It’s value our checklist of “Horrible Ten” components for extra perception on among the components we might by no means permit in our licensed merchandise, however which may really be present in another magnificence and wellbeing merchandise that label themselves “natural” with out certification!
All magnificence and wellness merchandise bought at Planet Natural are COSMOS licensed, discover our favourites right here.
[1] Gattinger, A., Muller, A., Haeni, M., Skinner, C., Fliessbach, A., Buchmann, N., Niggli, U. (2012). Enhanced high soil carbon shares underneath natural farming. Proceedings of the Nationwide Academy of Sciences of the US of America, 109(44), 18226–31.
[2] Smith et al. (2015) The power effectivity of natural agriculture: A evaluation. Renewable Agriculture and Meals Methods, 30, 3
[3] Bengtsson, J., Ahnström, J., & Weibull, A. C. (2005 ‘The consequences of natural agriculture on biodiversity and abundance: A meta-analysis’ Journal of Utilized Ecology, 42(2), 261–269. http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2664.2005.01005.x
[4] Sanchez-Bayo and Wyckhuys (2019) Worldwide decline of the entomofauna: A evaluation of its drivers. Organic Conservation, 232, 8-27
[5] Goulson, D ‘Are crops being devastated with out neonicotinoid safety?’ http://www.sussex.ac.uk/lifesci/goulsonlab/weblog/neonicotinoid-protection
