September 30, 2021

Are Your Favorite Wellness Brands Certified?

There are so many certifications, labels, and key words that brands are using on their packaging and across all social platforms. What do they really stand for and how does it affect you? Unvalidated claims can provide a false sense of security for the safety of the products you are consuming along with the level of sustainable efforts taken to make an impact. Below is a list of a few credible organizations that help do the research for you.

The Environmental Working Group (EWG)

This organization focuses on research and education, to bring you the latest findings on all of the skincare products on the market. They provide transparency via their guides on specific products, to help consumers make educated decisions when purchasing anything from skincare to food items. One example is their Skin Deep® guide that rates the safety of personal care products. The safety stamp of EWG VERIFIED™ ensures that the product is safe for topical use. The over 1,908 items on this list do not contain high levels of endocrine disruptors or highly concerning ingredients that may contribute to allergies or reactions.

Leaping Bunny

This group of eight animal protection organizations joined together to create the Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics (CCIC). So far 2,180 companies are certified. This means that all agreed to forgo animal testing during any stage of their product development. What’s unique about this certification, is the importance to uphold the same standards even if product ingredients or suppliers change over time, as annual third party audits are requirements of the program.

rePurpose

This organization gives brands the opportunity to offset plastic pollution and generate sustainable efforts for your brand. rePurpose uses a 4-step process, encouraging the conscious use of plastic and providing a calculator to measure the amount that is currently being consumed. For individuals you can calculate your footprint and for businesses you can make the commitment to become plastic neutral. This could mean actually using recycled ocean plastics for your bottles and packaging, or supporting initiatives where rePurpose funds projects to remove plastics from nature.

Within the sustainability space, it is important to be mindful of brands that make claims but don’t have partnerships with such organizations or certifications. This is called “greenwashing” where a brand makes environmentally friendly claims in marketing, to make them appear more committed to sustainability without actually taking those steps.

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