Eco chic: our favourite organic indulgences - page 4

Sacrifice nothing. These organic beauty essentials skip the synthetics, without losing any of the luxury...

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Getting the real organic deal

Not all 'organics' are created equal. Bh asked the experts how to be sure of the best buys…

Look for certification logos

• Akiko Nicholls, certification manager at Australian Certified Organic (ACO), says that to be stamped certified organic in Australia, a product must be at least 95% organicin content and meet the food-grade standards enforced by certifyingbodies (there is currently no grading for cosmetics). Productscontaining 70-95% organic contents are ‘allowed’ and carry a ‘made with organic ingredients’ logo. In either case, artificial ingredients may not be included in formulas.

• Sharon McGlinchey, the founder of MV Organic Skincare, warns that,unaccompanied by endorsement from a certifying association, the word'organic' in brand names or on packaging might mean little. Due to alack of regulation, products calling themselves ‘organic’ may containnegligible amounts of organic matter mixed in with synthetics.

• McGlinchey adds that, because of the strict certification guidelines,many “serious” all-natural, though less than 70% organic, cosmeticscannot be endorsed by certifiers.

Read labels

• McGlinchey advises that inspecting ingredient lists is the best wayto sort partly organic naturals from the mostly synthetic. The topthird of the list should account for 90% of the formula, the secondthird for up to 8% and the last third approximately 2%. Organicingredients should be listed at the top and highlighted with a symbol,such as an asterisk.

• Check also that your products are free from genetically modifiedingredients, mineral oil, propylene glycol, animal and petroleumderivatives, solvents, sodium lauryl sulfates and ammonium laurylsulfates.