Why are we changing our organic certification?

by Alf Orpen April 3, 2025

Being the first certified organic manufacturer of skin care in the world back in January of 2001 with our first brand Miessence, we have remained pioneers in authentic organic products now for 24 years. In the beginning, our products were certified organic to food standards as there wasn't any separate organic certification for skin care products like there is now that allow many dubious ingredients.

This letter is to share with you our decision to change our organic certification to one that only certifies to organic food standards and does not have different standards for cosmetics.

Over the years, it has become evident that the integrity of organic standards is steadily being depleted all over the world, and it's no different here in Australia. We see a steady creeping in of ingredients historically prohibited in certified organic products that are used in food production and, to put it simply, we object to this trend.

Years ago, when the separation of certifying organic food and cosmetics was raised in the industry, we objected, stating that there should not be more than one organic standard for everything as it is unfair to the customer who may not know there is a distinction between allowed ingredients in organic food and organic cosmetics.

Recently, we have learned about several issues that involve fungicides and other agricultural inputs that contain prohibited substances as so-called "inert" ingredients or "carrier" ingredients.

Specific Examples of Fungicide “inert” & “carrier” ingredients

We have found that 2 fungicides now certified organic as "certified organic inputs," contain ingredients that are in direct conflict with true organic principles that the organic industry was founded on. Anyone reviewing the product literature will find concerning so-called "inert" & "carrier" ingredients including:

• Propylene glycol (synthetic solvent)

• Sodium lignosulfonate (synthetic dispersant)

• Polyvinyl alcohol (synthetic binding agent)

• Polyethylene glycol (PEG) derivatives

• Kaolin (CAS: 1332-58-7) processed with surfactants (detergents)

• Synthetic wetting agents including sodium alkyl naphthalene sulfonates

• Lignosulfonic acid sodium salt used as a dispersant

• Calcium carbonate processed with synthetic anti-caking agents

This is clearly a major problem. None of the above synthetic ingredients are allowed in any form of certified organic products, yet they are being permitted as so-called "inert" or "carrier" ingredients required for the product to be effective—for example, to disperse the active ingredient further or preserve the product.

Each of the above stated "inert" or "carrier" ingredients on the Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) carry one or more of the following warnings: Toxicity to soil dwelling organisms, Acute toxicity to fish, Acute toxicity to aquatic invertebrates, Acute toxicity to algae/aquatic plants. This substance has not been assessed for persistence, bioaccumulation and toxicity (PBT).

This type of “allowance” can only benefit BigAg (BigChem) and large monoculture agriculture. It is not necessary for small scale producers who can use diluted neem oil and biofungicide (fermented products containing beneficial microorganisms that can control fungal diseases).

Moving Forward

We believe that organic certification should represent a holistic approach that examines all ingredients in a product, not just active ingredients. When "inert" or "other" ingredients constitute a portion of a product yet receive minimal scrutiny, this undermines the integrity of organic certification.

We are therefore pleased to announce that we are in transition to being certified organic with Sa new certification body which has authority to certify products to both USDA organic and EU organic standards. We've chosen them because they maintain only the organic food standards without either the greenwashing or lack of understanding of toxic ingredients some other certifiers have begun to demonstrate.

We appreciate your understanding and support during this transition. We believe this decision will ultimately allow us to continue to provide products that more authentically reflect true organic principles.

Alf Orpen