OASIS Defends Organic Standard Against Consumer Group Claims

The Organic Consumers Association has "grossly" mischaracterized the goals and intent of the Organic and Sustainable Industry Standard (OASIS) for organic personal-care products, founding members of the OASIS coalition say.

According to OASIS, OCA is publicizing misleading information about the OASIS standard, membership and ultimate goals.

"We've been working since 2000 on writing cosmetics standards," Gay Timmons, chairwoman of OASIS and founder of the ingredient supplier Oh, Oh Organics told "The Rose Sheet" March 24.

OCA "keeps harping on the fact that some of the ingredients that are allowed in the [OASIS] organic category are not organic. What [they] didn't ever explain was why," she said.

OCA takes as its model for certification the USDA's National Organic Program, which was created for organic food. This model does not suit personal-care products, as ingredients and processes that are critical for creating personal care are disallowed under the NOP standard, according to OASIS.

OCA is bringing its allegations into the legal arena. The consumer group sent "cease and desist" letters to French certifier Ecocert and OASIS demanding that they stop "misleading" organic consumers by certifying products as outright organic that contain non-organic cleansers (¹ (Also see "OCA Orders Organic “Cheaters,” Standard Setters To “Cease And Desist”" - HBW Insight, 24 Mar, 2008.), p. 3).

OASIS is in legal discussions on the issue, said Karl Halpert, founding board member and media chair of OASIS and president and CEO of personal-care manufacturer Private Label Select.

Ingredient Quibbling

OCA's beef with the OASIS standard consists in the fact that it allows products containing hydrogenated and sulfated cleaning ingredients made from conventional agricultural material to be certified as organic.

However, OASIS maintains that the current draft of its standard permits the use of non-organic emulsifiers and surfactants because no suitable organic alternatives exist.

The only organic surfactant is organic lye soap, Timmons said. With a pH of 10 to 10.5, it is too harsh to use on babies and many women will not use it on their skin. Instead, organic product makers are relying on gentler, non-organic surfactants such as sodium lauryl sulfate until organic versions are produced.

"What we've tried to do [with OASIS] is deal with some harsh realities and marry the concept of using a much larger volume of organic raw materials with green chemistry," Timmons said.

She added that the standard was written in part to encourage ingredient suppliers to develop organic ingredients derived from organic source materials by demonstrating that there is a market for such products.

Giving ingredient suppliers an incentive to source more organic raw materials, such as organic palm and coconut oil, will result in more options for consumers and increased acreage under organic cultivation, Timmons noted.

In a March 26 interview, Halpert similarly observed that "part of the principle of OASIS is that there will be incremental change over the next two to four years as the technologies become available and new sources for the product become available."

There is a "timed expiration" associated with exceptions to the organic ethos, OASIS says.

In the standard's current form, products certified "Organic" by OASIS must contain (by weight or fluid volume, excluding water and salt) no less than 85 percent organically produced raw or processed agricultural products.

Any remaining ingredients must be non-agricultural ingredients, substances for which there are no commercially available organic versions, or non-organic agricultural products produced in accordance to the standard.

In 2010, that 85 percent threshold will be raised to 90 percent, the expectation being that ingredient suppliers will have been able to develop organic alternatives to the conventional ingredients currently in use, according to Timmons. By 2012 the organic content floor will be 95 percent.

OASIS also will certify "100% Organic" products - which must contain only organically-produced ingredients - and "Made with Organic" items, which have not less than 70 percent organic content.

With the creation of a tiered system, OASIS mirrors USDA's certification program. OCA, which defers largely to USDA as the gold standard for organic personal care, has suggested that OASIS only certifies products as "Organic."

Over half of the OASIS membership sells products certified to NOP organic standards, according to Halpert.

Timmons noted that contrary to OCA's charges, OASIS does not generally permit the use of petrochemicals in products. The exception is for elemental sulfur, a petroleum industry byproduct which is allowed under USDA's organic standards for food, she said.

"We have this huge abundance of elemental sulfur from the petroleum industry so at least we have an application for it until people stop using gasoline," she said. "By then maybe we will have changed the technology sufficiently so we can use a different way."

The manufacturing of organic personal care is one aspect of the larger picture of sustainability, Halpert noted. OASIS is currently at work on a sustainable packaging standard; in time, the industry coalition will create standards for the entire health and beauty aids category as well as household cleaners, he said.

Who Runs The Show?

Part of OCA's objection to OASIS concerns the group's inclusion of large personal-care firms. The watchdog group says the OASIS standard was "spearheaded and created exclusively by conventional industry members."

Halpert denies the implication that OASIS "is somehow a standard created by the Estee Lauder [and] L'Oréal people as a means to dilute the standard to their own advantage."

In fact, the two largest firms involved in OASIS - L'Oréal and Estee Lauder - joined the trade association after a draft of the standard was written, according to Halpert.

Most OASIS members are small companies, he said; 80 percent have annual sales under $5 million, and 44 percent book less than $1 million per year.

The involvement of L'Oréal and Estee Lauder in OASIS provides the group with institutional resources, Timmons noted. For example, it can get input from synthesis chemists employed by the larger firms.

Halpert added: "Having a resource like an R&D lab at one of these billion-dollar companies working on surfactant technologies is huge."

The larger companies also can help with legal issues, Timmons pointed out. He noted that the European Union and USDA NOP have different definitions and expectations for "organic." Small firms do not have the resources or clout to lobby for reciprocity on organic ingredients.

"When you have L'Oréal and Estee Lauder, they can go to their respective governments and put a little bit of pressure to further support organic production."

The OASIS standard was unveiled March 6 (² (Also see "OASIS Defines “Organic” Personal Care In U.S., Sets New Global Standard" - HBW Insight, 10 Mar, 2008.), p. 3). The first product bearing the OASIS seal is currently available from personal-care manufacturer Smith and Vandiver. More will hit the market in 9 to 12 months, Halpert said.

"Let A Thousand Standards Bloom..."

OASIS is one of a number of organic standards emerging in the personal-care domain. Another, written in conjunction with NSF International, is touted by OCA as a more complete and authoritative standard (³ (Also see "NSF Organic Standards Extend Certification Opportunity To Personal Care" - HBW Insight, 4 Feb, 2008.), p. 3).

Timmons, who participated in the process, says the NSF standard does not reflect the will of the majority of participants. Of the 12 parties that voted on the draft, six were for it, with two abstentions; the draft passed because the abstentions were counted as "yea" votes.

"There was definitely attrition during that process because it was so difficult to make decisions and it was so contentious," she said.

However, the proliferation of standards ultimately stands to benefit industry and consumers, she said. By comparison, it took 35 years for the organic food industry to arrive at a single prevailing standard. Forty certifiers with 40 different standards had to make the compromises that yielded USDA's NOP guidelines.

"But that was okay because what that meant was that we all collectively solved the problem," she said. "I encourage NSF to go forward. I encourage Ecocert to continue to work on their standard. I think we all learn from that, and I think that's very important. Ultimately the consumer stands to benefit," Timmons said.

- Molly Laas ([email protected])