What It Means to be Clean: Navigating Industry Standards

Clean, green, natural, organic, pure, simple, honest, as consumers, we hear these buzzwords across all platforms and media messages. At this point in technological development, it is inevitable that the world of retail and consumerism has no choice but to adapt to a greener and cleaner environment.

From packaging materials and package waste itself, to biodegradability of formula, the cosmetics industry is seeing a massive shift in consumer demand for sustainable business practices. As I’m writing this, I feel a bit biased. I was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, in and around the Portland, Seattle, and Bellingham areas. The economic climate in these areas has allowed for opportunities within sustainable practices to thrive. My college town doesn’t provide plastic bags at grocery stores, but instead encourages consumers to bring their own reusable bags, or offers paper bags at an additional charge of .05 cents each. My college itself doesn’t sell plastic water bottles on campus, but rather provides watering refill stations throughout the university. In other words- I am very privilaged to live in an eco-friendly environment such as the PNW and therefore my perception of clean/green beauty might be a bit different than the average consumer.

At this time, the FDA doesn’t have any regulations for the use of words such as natural, organic, or clean in the concept of product packaging within beauty or personal care products. When researching for this information, the FDA reroutes users to the NOP (National Organic Program, a federal agency that governs organic foods and products) website. There, it is stated that, “USDA organic products have strict production and labeling requirements. Organic products must meet the following requirements:

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• Produced without excluded methods, (e.g., genetic engineering, ionizing radiation, or sewage sludge)

• Produced using allowed substances. View the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances (National List).

• Overseen by a USDA National Organic Program-authorized certifying agent, following all USDA organic regulations.”

Additionally, it is added that, “If you are not certified, you must not make any organic claim on the principal display panel or use the USDA organic seal anywhere on the package*. You may only, on the information panel, identify the certified organic ingredients as organic and the percentage of organic ingredients (USDA, 2019).”

Average consumers will not go to these lengths to differentiate what a brand means when they put words such as clean/green/organic on their products. Because of the ambiguity of the language used on product packaging, it is difficult for an average consumer to fully understand the claims in which they are buying into.

Global Cosmetics Industry Magazine adds their definition of Clean Beauty as, “Clean beauty is all about ingredient safety over source incorporating both synthetic and natural materials. While maybe a surprise to many not all natural ingredients are safe and not all synthetic ingredients are unsafe. With Clean Beauty, brands are focused on not using materials that are known to be harmful or irritating but instead ones that are safe and efficacious (GCI, 2019).”

Just because a product uses these trigger words in packaging or product names, that doesn’t mean that the ingredients are by any means “safe,” or that the brand believes in or implement sustainable business practices. There is nothing keeping brands accountable for the language used in communication with consumers in relation to the true safety or toxicity levels of products. However, there are plenty of resources available for concerned consumers to do their own research and discover the truth behind their personal care products. These resources will be discussed in detail in a later blog post.

For now, I will leave you with this- many people believe that marketing is focused around tactics used to manipulate consumers into purchasing products they might now need- which, for the most part, I would argue to be untrue. However, in this case, I do advise those interested in purchasing natural/organic beauty and personal care products (NOBPC) to be mindful of your shopping experiences, and to always ask questions. Be curious and don’t settle for the information provided on the product or product packaging- dig a little deeper and you might discover that your favorite everyday products could be potentially as toxic as (something that is rly toxic?? lol)