I recently came across some startling and revealing market research on how American consumers view natural and organic claims on personal care products. It seems that many consumers believe that the term “Natural” is more reliable than the term “Organic.” In fact just over half the participants in this study believed that the terms “100% Natural” or “All Natural Ingredients” were better than “100% Organic” or even “Certified Organic Ingredients.”

Clearly the brand influence of many large companies in the beauty industry puts them in the position to make vague, unsubstantiated, and even misleading product claims when it comes to being natural or green. This unfortunate practice is known as “Greenwashing” and while it continues to persist across various product categories in spite of the phenomenal growth of companies and products that are truly natural and green, it remains disturbingly prevalent in the personal care and cosmetics arena.

At the same time, the lack of regulation around the use of specific marketing claims and reliable standards for natural and organic certification, creates even more confusion which ultimately leads to suspicion and skepticism in the marketplace. This not only slows the rate of adoption (and ultimately the production) of healthier, greener products, it overshadows the importance of organic ingredients in personal care products both from the perspective of consumer health and safety and creating a truly sustainable environment.

Over the next couple of posts, we’ll take a look at some of the common claims that are used and how you can read between the lines so to speak, so you can tell if you’re being “greenwashed.”