Just last week the OCA is getting tough. Check out all this info. Seems 7th Gen, Method, and many others have gotten themselves in a bit of "hot water".
"Alert: Stop Bogus "Organic" Misbranding or Certification
To help remove some of this misleading organic labeling from the market, in late March 2008, the OCA and Dr.Bronner's filed Cease and Desist Letters to many of the bogus "organic" brands who utilize conventional and/or petrochemical material instead of organic material in making their main cleansing ingredients, some of whom even tested positive for the carcinogen 1,4-Dioxane in this study. Read the press release here and the Cease and Desist letter here.
Many of these companies misbrand “Organics” on their labels but consumers should look for products certified under the USDA like Dr. Bronner’s, because there are other weak so-called “organic” standards that a product can become "certified" under, which do not allow ethoxylation and 1,4-Dioxane, but allow hydrogenation and sulfation of conventional, not organic material, to make cleansing ingredients preserved with synthetic preservatives.
Two of these weak standards consumers should look out for are the Ecocert and OASIS standards; Ecocert actually allows certain petrochemicals in cleansing ingredients. Learn more here.
Surveys clearly indicate that when a product labels itself as "Organic" or is sold by a company with the word "Organic" in its brand name, consumers are willing to pay extra, because they believe that product does not contain cleansing ingredients made with conventional and/or petrochemical material, that may be contaminated with carcinogenic compounds like 1,4-Dioxane.
Surveys clearly indicate that when a product labels itself as "Organic" or is sold by a company with the word "Organic" in its brand name, consumers are willing to pay extra, because they believe that product does not contain cleansing ingredients made with conventional and/or petrochemical material, that may be contaminated with carcinogenic compounds like 1,4-Dioxane. "
Also check out:
http://www.organicconsumers.org/bodycare/DioxaneRelease08.cfm
