"USDA approved soap" is the claim I have been seeing lately on some websites. I do believe they mean that the ingredients are approved or certified. Organic products are all the rage in the natural beauty market place. There is one caveat when making soap though, CP soap must be made with sodium hydroxide. Sometimes known as caustic soda. One of the harshest chemicals on earth. So it doesn't matter how you dress up the product, the fact is, this ingredient comes from large chemical companies and is about as inorganic as it can be.
From a marketing perspective going organic can be a remarkable plus as more and more retailers are specializing in organic only products. They actively search out "green" items. Farmers from all over the world are now producing products that they can get certified as organic. Coffee, cocoa, vegetables all command premium prices if the market believes they are the genuine article. Another off-shoot of this market is the fair practices market which many times over lays the organic market. This is the insistence that subsistence farmers in these countries are treated fairly in their working conditions, wages and prices they are offered for their products. Organic Products Trading Company(optco) is one of the companies making these practices possible.
Why have consumers embraced the natural organic approach?. Here is an ingredient list of a popular shampoo product that integrates the word natural into the text on their label. "Water,ammonium lauryl sulfate,ammonium laureth sulfate,ammonium chloride,cocamide mea,fragrance,peg-5cocamide,hydroxypropyl methylcellulose, tetrasodium edta, dmdmhydantoin,citric acid, tocopheryl acetate,methylchloroisothiazolinone,methylisothiazolinone,sorbotol,algae extract, fd&c blue no. 1(ci 42090), fd&c green no. 3(ci 42053)." Here we have a perfect example of why consumers are leaving commercial soaps and shampoos in droves. Not only do the ingredients appear to be completely repugnant, they also appear to be deceitful in light of the brand name using the natural for labeling purposes.
Listed below are a few of the enterprising organic websites offering premium products to this growing market.
www.Vashon Organics
www.LuisaNewYork
www.onyasorganics
www.escential
www.bluemoonherbals
www.natural-salt-lamps
www.aromaclay
www.honeybeegardens.com
www.nantysnaturals
Supporting the natural beauty market means supporting small local businesses in your own community. Good Luck!