Personal Care
New Certified Organic Personal Care Ingredients
Expand Functionality and Quality
By Karl S. Halpert
The term “organic personal care” means different things to different folks. Cur- rently there is much debate over whether
or not organic personal care should be regulated by the USDA’s National Organic Program (NOP). Although the NOP was
originally developed to be a food standard, in
2005 the NOP agreed to let personal care
manufacturers certify to the NOP as long as
they could meet the same standards as organic food.
For this reason, manufacturers eagerly embrace new ingredients and technologies that
pass NOP regulations and today a growing
number of household items—from anhydrous products such as lip balms, salves and
massage oils to shampoos, conditioners and
anti-aging creams—are able to place the
USDA organic seal on their label. These products have now crossed over into mass-market
retailers including Walgreens and Target in
the United States, virtually all mass-market retailers in many parts of Europe, and in several
in Asia and the Middle East.
Expanding the Organic Personal Care
Tool Box
Driven by escalating global demand, formerly scarce ingredients are increasingly available in reliable supply, and in many cases we
see a shrinking price differential between
conventional and organic materials. This variety of new ingredients is making it easier for
manufacturers to create a wider range of
products that meet consumer needs.
Something for the Sweet Tooth. Launched
in 2009, organic stevia, a natural herbal sweet-
ener, has been embraced by the food indus-
try, as well as organic cosmetic companies.
The glycosides in stevia are three hundred
times the sweetness of sugar. Stevia also has
no calories. While organic sugar has long
been available, it has limited use in personal
care products due to its insolubility in oil.
Also, other oral care products, such as tooth-
paste, needed a greater concentration of
sweetness. Organic stevia replaces synthetic
sweeteners as well as licorice-derived prod-
ucts, and offers a viable organic sweetener for
lip balms, lipsticks and other oral care.
