Dont be Misled by Labelling on Beauty Products

 Typical consumers are confused when trying to filter through all of the claims of products purporting to be organic. The consumer must be able to trust what is being said on the labels of the cosmetics they are buying. Many people are looking for organic health and beauty products and the statistics back that up. According to the Soil Association, sales of organic health and beauty products grew by over 20% in 2016. They claim the market in the UK is now worth about £61.2m. That’s a lot of money going into the green cosmetic industry. A lot of money with very little evidence that the products are even close to being organic. There are no legal standards for the use of the term organic, unlike organic food which has strict regulations. Be wary of health and beauty products that make the claim that they are organic or labelled as natural. At this point in time, these products do not need, virtually, any natural or organic ingredients to make this claim. Peter Melchett, Soil Association policy director, stated: The labels on products we encountered were littered with confusing terms. Our consumer research shows that it is very difficult for consumers to know they are making the right choice when doing their shopping. As knowledge of the lack of certifications or legal standards spreads among consumers, more and more are turning to groups like the Soil Association and joining their Campaign for Clarity. More than 70% of consumers say that they would lose trust in a brand if they found out that the labelling was misleading or an outright lie. Manufacturers had better keep this in mind when decided to label their products as natural or organic. They run the risk of losing consumer trust, which can lead to down-sales of their products. Expert organizations are creating robust, independent, voluntary standards to encourage producers to put more effort into making their products more naturally, rather than just claiming that they are.  Not only are groups, such as the Soil Association, creating standards they are also starting to examine and publish the names of products that make false claims. Any interested consumer can find information on most of the products they use and learn just how natural they are, thanks to these groups. It’s time to clean up labelling of products to ensure that what the consumer is wanting is exactly what they are purchasing.