Hain on organic developments

Hain Celestial says it supports the National Organic Standards Board's recommendation (by 12 to 1 vote) for the U.S. Department of Agriculture to police the organic personal-care sector as it does the food industry, with respect to standards established under the National Organic Program. In a Nov. 12 release, Hain states: "A few natural product competitors and their supporters have attempted to misrepresent the NOSB recommendation in an unfortunate effort to unfairly disparage our brands." The Organic Consumers Association celebrated NOSB's Nov. 5 recommendation as a victory against brands perpetrating "organic cosmetics fraud," the same brands targeted by the group's recently launched boycott, which includes Hain's Jason and Avalon Organics lines. "Hain Celestial will continue to work with industry participants and government agencies to draft and formalize standards surrounding the use of the term 'organic' in personal-care products. Until such standards are established, it is up to all of us in the industry to work together to self-regulate for label integrity and consumer clarity," says Hain, a founding member of the OASIS coalition (1"The Rose Sheet" Aug. 10, 2009)