Business Beat: Association Creates Certification Program for Natural Personal Care Products
The Natural Products Association (NPA) has established its own certification program for natural personal care products, complete with a seal for packaging. This move is a reaction to concerns that some companies may be misusing the term natural to label products with synthetic ingredients. Currently, a federal certification program and a regulated definition of the word natural do not exist.
“People want natural products because they are good for them and good for our environment,” says Debra Short, president of NPA. “But anyone could claim their product was natural, even if it had 100% synthetic or petroleum-based [ingredients.] That wasn’t fair to consumers or to companies that make truly natural products. This seal will help to end all that confusion.”
The NPA independent certification program isn’t the only one for natural personal care products. Recently, Whole Foods Market announced its own Premium Body Care seal of approval. For more information, see page 8 of CPC Packaging’s March/April 2008 issue.
Criteria for NPA’s program include a rule that products must comprise at least 95% “truly natural ingredients or ingredients derived from natural sources.”
Web Exclusive Extra: Exclusive Interview with NPA and Burt’s Bee’s About NPA’s New Certification Program
• 78% of American women think that natural personal care products are currently regulated or don’t know if they are.
• 97% of American women think that natural personal care products should be regulated.
• Two out of every three American women think that a personal care product labeled as natural should contain at least 95% natural ingredients.
Information reported by NPA, May 2008. Study and results provided by Yankelovich.