My shower this morning was a bit different than yesterday. Today, I washed my hair with a bit of trepidation. I had just learned that what I thought was organic shampoo and conditioner was something quite different, and that to find truly organic body care products is more difficult than I thought.

I liked Avalon Lavender Shampoo. The front label says, "Organic Botanicals" and "certified organic floral water." The back label says, "No Sodium Laureth or Lauryl Sulfate," a big scare some years ago when found in shampoos. The bottle is attractive and it is supposed to be "therapeutic" and "nourishing for all hair types." It claims that there is no animal testing and no animal ingredients, and it was purchased right here at Honest Weight - so I bought it with confidence.

As it turns out, Avalon is under investigation by the California State Organic Program and the California Department of Health Services for misleading organic claims on more than 30 of its body care products. The investigation was in response to a complaint from the Organic Consumers Association (OCA), a non-profit watchdog group that focuses on protecting consumer rights and has 500,000 members. This organization claims that Avalon is counting steamed tap water as "organic," and may be using synthetic petroleum-derived ingredients in its organic products. Additionally, according to OCA, large body care companies "...are pressuring the Organic Trade Association and the USDA's National Organic Program ...to implement extremely weak, watered-down standards." Both the Washington Post and Mothering magazine have covered this issue. OCA has placed ads about this issue in Mother Jones, Utne Reader, The Nation, and other magazines, and has extensive information about this issue on their website (www.organicconsumer.org). Meanwhile, ads for "organic" products that may not really be organic continue to run in the Natural Food Merchandiser, a leading natural foods trade journal; but the magazine refuses to run ads from OCA exposing the problem.

The body care companies in question may use petroleum-based ingredients in their products. As in the case of Avalon, they add large amounts of water and tout their product as "50% organic." The water is made to sound like something special on the ingredients list on the label. It is listed first and said to be "Certified organic lavender floral water." The second ingredient is a "herbal infusion" of various "certified organic" herbs, and the third ingredient is "extracts of certified organic" herbs. According to OCA, floral waters, infusions and extracts "...amount to little more than flavored water"; and, according to the National Organic Standards, water cannot be claimed as organic. Other body care companies act similarly, and their products are found at Honest Weight and at other stores selling natural foods.

Fortunately, we are not helpless. There are companies making truly natural products. One old standby carried by the Coop is Dr. Bronner's soap bars and 8-oz., 32-oz. and gallon containers of liquid soap. According to the manufacturer, these soaps contain no synthetic surfactants and none of the petrochemicals commonly found in health and beauty products. They contain no floral waters, infusions or hydrosols, which are commonly used by companies to pass on plain water as an organic product. Also, Dr. Bronner's offers a new 100 percent post-consumer recycled plastic cylinder bottle for its soaps.

Vermont Soapworks is another line that has been certified as a U.S. Department of Agriculture organic processing facility. "We have been using organic ingredients in our natural soap products since we started in 1992," notes founder and president Larry Plesent. Vermont Soapworks and the Green Products Alliance, a non-profit organization co-founded by Plesent, are helping to establish firm guidelines for what "organic" means in the personal care industry. Meanwhile, Vermont Soapworks is one of the few companies that have achieved certification under the existing NOP and will be able to legally market its soap products as "made with organic ingredients." For more information, visit www.vermontsoap.com.