New research by the Soil Association reveals that 76% of people feel misled by some beauty labelling. The new research, released as part of its Campaign For Clarity, also shows that 72% of people said they would lose trust in a beauty brand that made misleading claims about being organic.
The research found that 74% of people said they would feel they were choosing a product which was free from ‘nasties’ if it said organic on the label. Yet the reality is quite different. A leading independent toxicologist reviewed the ingredients found in products which say organic on the label and identified the ‘Terrible Ten’: ingredients which have been shown in wider use to cause problems such as allergies, hormone disruption, or harm to the development of unborn babies. Emeritus Professor Vyvyan Howard of the Centre for Molecular Bioscience at Ulster University, who assessed the ingredients used in the potentially misleadingly labelled products and came up with the ‘Terrible Ten’, said: “I was shocked to find ingredients which could contain human carcinogens in products with labels which could misleadingly suggest that they might be organic. Genuine organic products are independently certified and I would encourage consumers to choose those to be sure they are keeping away from ingredients included in the Terrible Ten.”