SANCTUM ORGANIC
Demystifying the Organic Skin Care Myth?
Here at Sanctum we have followed the rise of Organic skin
and body care with interest over the last 4 years and only
now have decided to take this direction. We did not want
to just jump on the bandwagon and be seen as another organic
player in the market with some products organic and some
not. Nor did we want to risk jeopardizing the standards
of the products we produce as we have found that some organic
products currently in the market place, do not feel, smell
and look like main stream skin and body care products. Some
companies have one organic certified product and declare
their whole range to be organic. We believe that only certified
organic companies can truly call themselves NATURAL as the
certification process and random manufacturing audits separates
the truly natural companies from the rest.
Yes it would have been easy for us to follow others down
this path and have products on the shelf that fall apart
and smell "funny" after a few short months.
However, it was important to us that the integrity of our
product was NOT to be compromised under any condition. It
is also important to us that there is TRUTH WITHIN LABELLING
as many of our competitors state they are natural, organic
or have organic ingredients and after carefully scrutinizing
their ingredient list they are not!
You may ask why has it taken us 4 years when some of our
competitors have been organic for just as long. The reason
is quite simple, as the demand increased for more organic
food the market of supplies and growers of organic raw materials
also augmented. A few years ago what you could purchase
organically for skin and body care was extremely limited,
now there are many more natural and organic ingredients
available which allows us NOT to sacrifice the quality of
our products for organics.
We have scanned the world for organic ingredients and now
buy from Asia, South America, South Africa, Australia, Europe,
etc, and where possible purchase from FAIR TRADE producers
in underdeveloped communities. It has not simply been a
matter for us to go organic as each product had to have
its ingredients carefully assessed for a change from non
organic to organic. For example our Hy C Serum can be fully
certified (95% plus) organic however we would need to reduce
some of the active ingredients (vitamin C) to do this so
we have chosen not to, our conscious decision is to achieve
as much organic content in each product as possible without
the reduction of quality.
Did you know there are in fact 3 classes of organic products
recognised around the world?
These are as follows, for products that are:
1. Under 70% organic content are to be described
as non organics
2. Over 70% is described as containing certified
organic ingredients
3. Over 95% organic content can be termed certified organic
The balance of the formula, not including water and minerals,
MUST be of natural origin and therefore can not include
ingredients such as normal preservatives eg. Parabens, Potassium
sorbate, Sodium benzoate, etc. nor should the preservatives
be hidden in terms like Parfum.
In the method of calculation water and minerals are not
included (this is why you can get certified lip stick and
mascara). All Sanctum products are now over 70% with many
over the 95% threshold. We have not sacrificed any quality
in achieving this, just time and careful formulation work.
We chose organic raw materials carefully and have still
maintained medicinal levels of active properties selected
for functionality in our products.
As the labelling standards in Australia are open to all
sorts of interpretation some of the label claims on products
on the shelf here reflect anything but what is in them.
You can just about call everything "organic"
and get away with it except if you wish to export. This
is where there are rules and laws which are policed by AQIS
(Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service) to help protect
Australia's good name in overseas markets. To export
any products and claim it to be organic you must be a certified
organic processor/grower and have your manufacturing facility
and your formulations approved by an AQIS approved certifying
body. There are numerous certifying bodies in Australia
which can audit manufacturing facilities and approve products.
All these organisations come under the control of AQIS a
Federal Government Department which sets the Government
legislation that everyone must abide by. There is no national
standard for skin care or cosmetics so classification must
be under the "National Food Standard for Organic and
Bio-dynamic Produce". Sanctum has certification through
the Organic Food Chain Pty Ltd and proudly bears their logo
on all our products which gives you the confidence that
you are buying a product that is truly organic by nature.
It's what's inside that counts.
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