Hm, that's too bad they're not 100%.  I'll try to figure out which products are the ones to look out for!

Hi there, just want to let you know about dollop TM all-natural hair styling pomade. I formulated it myself from plant oils and beeswax (most of the ingredients are organic).
I'm a professional aromatologist based in New Zealand, and I stand by its production every step of the way. Am happy to share the full list of ingredients with you if you like?

As far as New Zealand goes it is the only all-natural hair styling pomade on the market!
You are welcome to check it out & also ask questions via my web site www.dollophair.com
Thanks for the great resource,

cheers Eleanor

What an absolute wonderful, and helpful article/information.  Thank you so much, for taking the time out, and educating others.   You are to be commended.  I love how it was simple and straight to the point, with no mumbo jumbo. 
 

I have so many horrible products, hate to throw them away, but ones got to do, what ones got to do.  Only one I have that is worth keeping is My Chelle.   Will be going to get some others great products on your list you mentioned.    Thank you again. 

I want you to take a long, hard look at the list provided by organicgal007 (nice name by the way).  Some of the "fake" organic companies listed here also ended up on the FDA "badboy" list for having trace amounts of lead in their vitamins.  There are die-hard fans of some of these products (the company could do no wrong types) . . . but if you were to find that your favorite "organic" product line produced vitamins with lead, won't you want to switch?  Do some research on the products out there.  Be sure to test one's that you like, then decide for yourself what works best for you.  In the end, you will be a happier, more informed consumer.

Link for the FDA story:  www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/lead-vitamins-082803 

 Pronounced "My Essence".  Good call on getting the order high enough for the free shipping.  I should look into that for myself.  For the most part, my shipping (even the big orders) haven't been more than $8 USD.

ok thanks

Thanks sooo much for this list!!!  I do green women's products and for the home and other fun stuff. And I'll be honest with you, I was saying that some of the fakers were real. I'm gonig to use your list as a great guideline!!!

Saucy Salsita, AKA The Sexy Hippie - Because sexy comes in GREEN!
 

Glad to see you note the actual chemical ingredients in Aveda, Korres and LUSH products. I'm beyond tired of seeing these companies tout themselves as completely natural and make every magazine's "organic" it list.

I do, though, have to respectfully disagree with Alaffia. Alaffia's products are full of stearic acid and the owner is sadly a con artist. He swears his shea butter is Fair Trade certified, yet there IS no organization that actually certifies Fair Trade shea butter. His shea butter is ceritifed through a non-profit HE (the owner of Alaffia) created -- and his shea butter is the only one certified as Fair Trade. Very dishonest. It's kind of like owning a car company, then starting an non-profit agency that certifies only your cars as safe.

Thanks for the insight to Allafia. I will research further. I've worked with one of their reps for years, and had trust in the company, but will research it further. Thanks!

...just want to take some time to thank you again for such a fantastic list!  I have recommended this actual thread over at Treehugger (where I am a moderator on the forums) to those with questions about certain brands and even how such things are determined and certified.  ...I have heard positive feedback from those who checked it out.... which is good for Huddler as well.  :-)

Well done!  Keep up the good work.

USA FDA is not very strict on how cosmetic companies label their products regarding the terms "natural" or "organic." No product is "purely organic" or "purely natural" since they all contain some type of chemicals to prevent it from going bad.

Quote:

Originally Posted by NTxWriter 

thanks for your list and also for listing your sources.

 

It really aggrevates me that companies can use terms like "with organic ingredients" or "natural" and mislead consumers who don't know any better.

 

You always have to check the labels and know exactly what you're getting!

correct, that the FDA does little to protect us, since there is no regulation(s) on how the word "natural" is used.

however, when it comes to organics, there are some protections.

• in order for the usda organic label to appear on a product (food or body care) the product must be 95% certified organic ingredients, the remaining 5% can be ingredients such as salt, minerals, clay, water...but not chemicals.
• to carry the "made with organic" ingredients, the product must be at least 70% organic; the down side is that the other 30% can be junk, i.e. chemicals.

products carrying the usda organic label, do not have chemicals used to preserve the product, they contain natural preservatives like vitamins or herbs, etc.

it is a myth that you need chemical synthetics to preserve a product.

it is true, you do need a preservative system in place, but it does not need to be a chemical or synthetic. many, many companies successfully preserve products naturally without chemical synthetics! just look at my list...all those "good guys" don't use sythetic chemicals to preserve their products, and you don't have to store them in the fridge either. you treat them just like you would any other product you use.

I am new to this whole organic/natural lifestyle and a friend recently turned me to your website. I saw Nature's Gate on there and was comparing the deodorant to your list and I didnt' see any of the ingredients on your list in the deodorant - is it just certain products? Also, Hugo Naturals - they aren't aon any of your list - have you heard of them or checked into them at all?

Thanks for all you have done and continue to do!!

mom.1ntriplets@gmail.com

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robin-Lynn Semenecz Konopka 

I am new to this whole organic/natural lifestyle and a friend recently turned me to your website. I saw Nature's Gate on there and was comparing the deodorant to your list and I didnt' see any of the ingredients on your list in the deodorant - is it just certain products?

Looking at Cosmetics Database listing for Nature's Gate, it looks like they like some of their Organics Deodorants as 1's (Lavender & Aloe, Tea Tree & Blue Cypress, Lemongrass & Clary Sage).  But Nature's Gate does have other products that rate as highly as a 7 on their hazard scale.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robin-Lynn Semenecz Konopka 

Also, Hugo Naturals - they aren't aon any of your list - have you heard of them or checked into them at all?

Hugo Naturals products are rated 1-2 on Cosmetics Database. 

I just joined today so I'm late in giving kudos for the original post but here they are anyway!

Another Natural Products company to add to the list:  Daisy Blue Naturals.  Rated on EWG and Skin Deep Database.

Burt's Bees is especially troubling because they go out of their way to tout the safe and natural (on their website they say that 1/2 of their products are 100% natural, which is baloney.  It is really more like 1/8).  Meanwhile, most of their products contain "fragrance"- a real toxic soup of synthetic chemicals.  Pangea Organics also uses quite a few synthetic ingredients, when looking at labels.  They only have 3 or 4 products that are all natural. 

You should also define what you mean by all-natural.  Many companies use vegetable emulsifying wax NF, for example, which is allowed by the Natural Products Association, but I wouldn't necessarily call it a natural ingredient, although it is safe.  Citric acid is considered a natural ingredient, but from everything I have read, it is made through a synthetic process.  Does it truly qualify as natural?

On the plus side, you should definitely add Keys to the list of true Natural companies.  Most of their line is also 85% organic. Wild Carrot Herbals, Zosimos Botanicals, and A Wild Soap Bar are also good natural companies.

Does anyone have any suggestions on natural dish detergent and laundry detergent?  We use Soapnuts for laundry, which are pretty good, but not great for whites.  Many dish detergents and other products, even natural brands like Jason, Kiss My Face, etc., are contaminated with 1-4 dioxane (see article here). We use MiEnviron which is decent but pricey.  I am wondering if there are any others out there.  Sal Suds contains SLS, so I won't use it.

Regarding "organic" skin care, I was an independent consultant for The Body Shop at Home for 5 years and even though they have great social values, they're SUPER slow on the uptake regarding removing parabens and other synthetic chemicals from their products. I've gone back to using the Botanical Line from Body Time in Berkeley (the ORIGINAL The Body Shop...) They've also written a great article on "organic and natural exposed."

** edited to remove content in violation of Commercial Use Policy

Julie

Thank you for your commentary and for those who have replied.  It is wonderful to learn that there are so many out there concerned about the environment, what we have become, where we need to go, who we need to support or not.  I have just come on board with a line of products that are patented, enzyme based, all natural ingredients, totally green and will change just about anything they can to remain the greenest company around.  You might actually want to contact them to see if they would be interested in your organic line.  I'd be happy to get you to the right people to speak with.  In about a year I think they will be adding some hand lotions and shampoos, but first we need to educate the US households what toxins are doing to their environment at home including causing cancer, ADD, asthma, migraines, I think the list is becoming endless as more studies are done.  I would appreciate any feed back on my products www.wowgreen.net/10223.  The company uses recycled boxes, green ink, and is looking for more environmentally friendly packaging.  The containers are recyclable and/or reusable and much less costly than through a major outlet.  Plus you know what you are buying which is a big plus.  Thank you for checking it out and I hope you are pleased and I don't become a faker!  Susan

Quote:

Originally Posted by hibiscus 

 

Does anyone have any suggestions on natural dish detergent and laundry detergent?  We use Soapnuts for laundry, which are pretty good, but not great for whites.  Many dish detergents and other products, even natural brands like Jason, Kiss My Face, etc., are contaminated with 1-4 dioxane (see article here). We use MiEnviron which is decent but pricey.  I am wondering if there are any others out there.  Sal Suds contains SLS, so I won't use it.

I use Bio-Vert's dish detergent and laundry detergent from OnlyGreen.  It's biodegradeable, free of the "icky stuff", and works very well on whites.
 

I would like to add VADA Body Care to the list as a real organic and/or natural product line:

http://www.onlygreen.com/products-1/vada-world/

Here's a listing of the ingredients used:

Ingredients (A-R)

Ingredients (S-Z)

(Note:  The VADA product line is made available exclusively through OnlyGreen Independent EcoAdvisors.)

Onlygreenshop sounds like an Amway type organization to me. The only requirement is to pony up 179 USD to get their kit and start hustling - building your own pyramid.

Of course you do get your very own 'OnlyGreen Ecoadvisor' pin as part of the package.

If the dryer balls are typical of the product research they do then I wonder?

I want to add a company to the clean list. I work for Motherlove Herbal Company and we make certified organic plant based products for pregnancy, birth and breastfeeding. All ingredients are full disclosure – meaning everything in our products is on the label, which is not true for all companies. We are as clean as it gets and we are a very environmentally conscience company. Motherlove uses wind energy, we recycle and compost, and use recycled materials and corn starch for packing. I love working here; it is an awesome company that is doing a good thing for people and the planet.   www.motherlove.com

 Thanks for doing your research! It is so nice to see people realize that just having the word natural on a label doesn’t mean much. We all need to be aware of what we are putting in and on our bodies. Keep up the good work everyone.

I'm really new to all of this, thanks for taking the time to compose this list. I went to whole foods today and saw many of these brands and my mouth just dropped b/c ppl assume that everything is okie dokie in the store.  My rule of thumb, if i cant pronounce it and if it has a hyphen followed with a number, its likely to be bad.

read this article

http://greenerworking.com/is-it-too-easy-to-claim-to-be-green-congress-wants-to-know