The family-owned Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps filed a lawsuit in California Superior Court today against numerous personal care brands to try to force them to stop making certain organic labeling claims. Dr. Bronner’s and the Organic Consumers Association (OCA) warned offending brands that they faced litigation unless they committed to either drop their organic claims or reformulate away from main ingredients made from conventional agricultural and/or petrochemical material without any certified organic material.
David Bronner, President of Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps says, "We have been deeply disappointed and frustrated by companies in the ‘natural’ personal care space who have been screwing over organic consumers, engaging in misleading organic branding and label call-outs, on products that were not natural in the first place, let alone organic."
The lawsuit names several major brands, including Estee Lauder and Stella McCartney’s CARE, as well as Ecocert and OASIS.
Dr. Bronner’s objects to the standard created by French certifier Ecocert, which allows less than 100% organic content in its "organic"-labeled products and also employs a "made with Organic" label that can be applied to products containing petrochemicals.
The new Organic Sustainable Industry Standard (OASIS), developed by industry members including Estee lauder, relies on the Ecocert standard. Dr. Bronner’s said in a statement the standard was created with no consumer input and will permit certification of products outright as "Organic" that contain only 85% organic content. As a result, organic water extracts and aloe vera will greenwash conventional synthetic cleansing ingredients and preservatives, the company said.
"The OASIS standard is not merely useless but deliberately misleading to organic consumers looking for a reliable indicator of true ‘organic’ product integrity in personal care," Dr. Bronner’s said.
Companies and products singled out by Dr. Bronner’s include: Jason "Pure, Natural & Organic;" Avalon "Organics;" Nature’s Gate "Organics;" Kiss My Face "Obsessively Organic;" Juice "Organics;" Giovanni "Organic Cosmetics;" Head "Organics;" Desert Essence "Organics;" and Ikove "Organic."
Dr. Bronner’s said its products, in contrast to thes brands , contain ingredients made only from certified organic oils, made without any use of petrochemicals, and contain no petrochemical preservatives.
Ronnie Cummins, Executive Director of the OCA, said, "The pressure of imminent litigation outlined in cease and desist letters sent by OCA and Dr. Bronner’s in March prompted some serious discussion with some of the offending companies, but ultimately failed to resolve the core issues."
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