Lawsuit alleges misuse of ‘organic'

Minimal regulation of the organic beauty industry isn't just frustrating consumers; it's angering some within the industry as well.

The Organic Consumers Association, a nonprofit watchdog group, and Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps, a USDA-certified organic personal-care company, filed a lawsuit against more than a dozen companies Monday, claiming they misbranded products "organic."

"If you say ‘organic' in your brand name, then that's a product claim," said David Bronner, president of Dr. Bronner's. "Right now in the food side it's a truth-in-advertising program that's working . . . where in personal care, chances are that it's not."

Bronner says long discussions with personal-care companies about creating an industrywide standard never led to action.

"Nothing was getting through," he said. "It wasn't changing anything. There was plenty of talk, but ultimately we realized nothing was going to change without litigation."

The lawsuit was filed in California Superior Court in San Francisco County, and seeks to prohibit companies from labeling products "organic" that do not meet the USDA's National Organic Program certification.

Named in the lawsuit are Estee Lauder Inc. (maker of Aveda products), The Hain Celestial Group Inc. (maker of Jason Pure, Natural & Organic), Kiss My Face Corp., Levlad Inc. (maker of Nature's Gate Organics), Florestas Organic Botanical Inc., Juice Beauty Inc., Stella McCartney America Inc., Giovanni Cosmetics Inc., Cosway Co. Inc., Country Life Inc., Ecocert France and Ecocert Inc.

Ecocert is a French company that certifies organic products - though, according to a press release from OCA, the company allows conventional products to be used in organic certification.

"We don't need any more exceptions to the rule," says Adam Eidinger, spokesman for Dr. Bronner's and OCA. "We need more organic products."

Dr. Bronner's and OCA say one industry attempt at self-regulation, a group called Organic and Sustainable Industry Standards (OASIS), hasn't gone far enough in addressing the issue. OASIS is also a defendant in the suit.