Natural, Organic Beauty. Hideous Brand Management.
A little more enthusiasm from the produce section please.

Accompanying their article on young organic cosmetics consumers, the NY Times has followed up with a more detailed analysis of the industry. According to the Organic Trade Association sales of organic personal care items reached $350 million last year, an increase of $68 million over 2005.

The article notes that increasing confusion over the “truthiness” of the natural personal care market stems in part from the lack of national standards. According to the US Food and Drug Administration there is no national standard for what “organic” or “natural” means.

The result is a general free for all in the market which will undoubtedly lead to claims of greenwashing and damage consumer confidence in the organic brand. This is exactly the opposite of what the planet and consumers need. If the phenomenal industry growth in green products is going to continue groups like the Organic Trade Association need to stop resting on their laurels and produce clear industry standards that pave the way toward government baseline regulations.

The shocker in this article is a spokesperson from the USDA Organic ecolabel actually telling readers of the NY Times that they shouldn’t interpret that label as proof of health benefits or efficacy.

She calls the USDA logo a “marketing program”; basically assuring consumers that her logo is marketing fluff, not to be taken seriously. You can almost hear the balloon deflate.

Tags: consumerism, organic, standards, usda
Posted by Jacob on Tuesday, November 6th, 2007 | Permalink |

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