OCA Announces Boycott of Select 'Organic' Brands

2009-11-06 | 11:58

Offers list of brands consumers should buy instead.

The Organic Consumers Association (OCA) has announced a boycott of brands “that have cheated consumers for years and recommend honest organic brands in order to promote certified organic personal care.”

The major brands on the OCA boycott list are Desert Essence Organics Body Care, Organics by Noah's Naturals, Giovanni Organic Cosmetics, Nature's Gate Organics, Amazon Organics, JASON Pure Natural and Organic and Avalon Organic.

Instead, OCA is asking consumers to support the following firms with USDA Organic Seals: Alteya, Amrita, Baby Bear Shop, Badger Balm, Buddha Nose, Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps, Earth Mama and Angel Baby, Kimberly Organics, Little Angel, Mercola, Motherlove, ONEgroup, Organicare, Origins Organics, Purely Shea, Rainwater Organic Lotion, Rose Tattoo Aftercare, SoCal Cleanse, Seasons of the Soul, Sensibility Soaps/Nourish, Terressentials, Trillium and Vermont Soap.

The announcement came with news that the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) has voted 12 to 1 for the USDA National Organic Program (NOP) to enforce the law for organic personal care as is done with organic food.

According to OCA, the vote would mean shampoos and other body care products that claim to be organic, but are not certified, would be forced to drop the organic claims made on their products or improve formations to meet organic standards.

"Brands that are using the word organic improperly should be on notice that USDA enforcement is imminent,” said Ronnie Cummins, executive director of the Organic Consumers Association (OCA). “Deputy secretary Kathleen Merrigan has said that she is going to get 'tough on crime' in the organic industry.”

According to Cummins, at the NOSB meeting this week, National Organic Program director Miles McEvoy announced a “new age of enforcement” in organic.

“I expect them to make organic cosmetics fraud a top priority. In the meantime, retailers should start cleaning up their body care aisles,” Cummins added.