This whole organics thing is a bugbear of many bloggers – and beauty writers – because the area is so woolly. Global brand H&M have announced the arrival of what they call ‘a skin care range with organic ingredients’. Well, uhh, that’s not the same thing at all as an ‘organic’ brand. I really struggle to see the point of chucking in a few organic ingredients in order to jump on the organic bandwagon. What H&M are hoping of course, is that we’ll see the word ‘organic’ and immediately think of the skincare range as a wholesome, good-for-you product at a very reasonable price. What I see are the words ‘organic ingredients’ and that is a whole other thing entirely. On the H&M website, their announcement is highlighted in red ‘Organic Ingredients’. But what they don’t say really is how organic this makes the products. There are no statistics telling us something is say, 80% organic or 75% organic. I don’t think you can be a little bit organic. Here’s a portion of what the webite says:
‘Nature gives us the best ingredients, which is why it makes so much sense to work with organic and natural ingredients in this new range of everyday essentials from H&M. Shower gel contains the juice of organic apples, while organic apple juice and apricot seeds are key ingredients in the body scrub. Organic apple juice and oils from sunflower seeds make up an essential part of the body lotion, while the hand cream has organic apple juice and oils from organic almond seeds. The lip-balm has the key organic ingredients of jojoba and beeswax, and all of the products are scented with natural perfumes derived from essential oils, sold in recyclable packaging. All the products are available at H&M’s affordable prices, while also meeting the requirements of Ecocert. Ecocert is Europe’s biggest certification body for organic and natural cosmetics.
‘The introduction of skincare products with certified organic ingredients comes at a time when sustainability is even more central to H&M’s work, with a commitment to increase the use of organic cotton by 50% each year until 2013, while projects like H&M’s Garden Collection for Spring 2010 show how organic and sustainable materials can take their place at the very heart of fashion.’
And yet, this is the same company that was flagged up in the Guardian (via The New York Times) in January for shredding unsold clothes instead of donating to the homeless or those in need (and somewhat shockingly, leaving bags of slashed clothing only feet away from a sleeping homeless person). They’ve since, for the record, apologised wholeheartedly. Although H&M have had an ethical clothing policy since 2007, and score reasonably highly in ethical rankings I’m feeling it isn’t all that ethical to be putting beauty products on the shelves that, if you are truly organically minded, tick very few boxes. Citing a ‘strong demand from consumers for organics’ as the reason for the range, and with a predominantly young consumer base, an entry level price point for their products is going to make it an attractive prospect for eco-youth thinking they’re making an ethical and more healthy choice. And yet, a few organic ingredients does not make an organic product. As far as it ‘meeting the requirements of Eco Cert’, it would be helpful to know what those requirements are.
It would be so much better if the website announcement didn’t feel quite so vague – I feel what it doesn’t say speaks louder, and while H&M might be trying to work more eco-consciously and ethically, fluffing around with a few natural or organic ingredients, albeit in recyclable packaging, doesn’t send a loud enough message to me. I’ve also done a quick scout of Google to see if anyone else is asking questions about this range, and it seems that nobody really is. Come on H&M, let’s have some proper stats and real clarity on exactly how organic the skin care range is.
Image: www.bellasugar.com.au
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9 comments
I was looking at the press bumpf for it earlier, and the wording is very wooly.
But, if the products meet EcoCert standards – which are very rigorous – then as far as I am aware it’s a given that the products are organic (unless there are differing types of certs, which H&M should make clear), because they wouldn’t be able to gain certification or use the trademark, without meeting the strict requirements EcoCert have.
We may just be reaching a point with organic certification where it’s enough to know that bodies have the credibility to award a stamp and that’s enough for a consumer – after all, I know a company with ISO 9001 certification is a good one with good standards and practices because it’s an internationally accepted mark, but I don’t have a breeze what they have to do to gain it!
babe
sorry i know this is a bit off topic but do u know when mac spring forecast is going to be released in the UK?
ta in advance x
This is always going to happen when organic products become a bandwagon choice for big businesses rather than an advised one. And if the info is hazy….it’s like the old adage of no smoke without fire!
I think this Ecocert qualification might be for the individual organic ingredients they have used to make up the product, rather than the product as a whole. GREENWASH I cry! I’d rather they put the effort into making their packaging out of post consumer waste, that would be better for the environment than a couple of drops of organic apple juice.
Also the wording around the organic cotton is annoying, increasing the small amount of organic cotton they use by 50% is not the same as using 50% organic cotton in their collections, which is how it first reads. Cotton is the second biggest polluter in the world after crude oil!
It is so counter productive to do these half-arsed attempts at eco-launches. It just leaves a bad taste in the mouth about the whole brand.
Rant, over and out!
This is a very woolly statement. I think they’ve mentioned that the “ingredients” meet eccocert standards, which doesn’t mean that the product itself will.
Increasingly I’m realising that “organic” is becoming a buzz-word used to hide products which in all actuality aren’t that natural. I’ll be having a good look at these instore when they’re released, I’ll bet they’re not as touchyfeely as they’d like us to think.
I think checking the “natural content” of your products these days is a much better indicator of the quality of your product than taking the label “organic” at face value.
I may have to change the name of Organic Wednesday. I know I’ve featured a few products where I’ve been taken in in the past.
I’m not loving this at all. It’s certainly not a product I would ever try but I get annoyed with companies that prey on the “Tween”/younger consumers that might not have access to all the facts when it comes to how they spend their money. How many teens/hard working students are going to walk into that store, buy what they can with what little money they have and go along their merry way thinking they’ve done something good for the planet? It’s pretty disgraceful really. I’d have more respect for H&M if they just sold it for what it probably is; a smelly shower gel in semi-recyclable packaging. At least then we’d all know where we stand. Confusing us with cleverly written spin and lots of jargon feels just the same as lying to me.
Then again, I really hope I’m completely wrong and they are doing what they can to be an ethical corporate machine. (Is that last bit an oxymoron?)
R x
I love this topic. I always believe in natural ingredients. I think they are much safer than others.
Companies know that consumers are more conscious about what’s in their beauty products – all the big names have launched an ‘organic’ or ‘natural’ range. It’s great for a high-street retailer to launch an organic range at an affordable price but you need information and claims to back it up and be honest and transparent about what’s really in the pack.
If they want and wish to hold on in the cosmetic market they have to start with the organic range because today’s youth are very conscious and this time for a very good cause.