Natural personal-care marketers in Europe have formed a lobby group - NaTrue - to represent industry interests as leading certification bodies work to develop a common standard for natural and organic products by June 2008, according to Organic Monitor.

An extension of the recently established European natural and organic cosmetics interest group - the EEIG - NaTrue will function to ensure that industry is not "marginalized" in the crafting of standards for products marketed as "natural" or "organic," Organic Monitor says.

UK-based consulting firm Organic Monitor co-organized the Natural Beauty Summit held in late 2007 in Paris, where NaTrue's creation was announced.

"We want to present our point of view and our own research on natural ingredients and products, as well as our experiences," NaTrue President and Weleda exec Moritz Aebersold explained. NaTrue also will pursue objectives in the area of corporate responsibility, such as "comprehensive observation of the ban on animal testing," Organic Monitor says.

The group says it will work alongside rather than compete with the European Cosmetic Toiletry and Perfumery Association (Colipa). In addition to Weleda, founding members of NaTrue include Dr. Hauschka, Santeverde, Primavera and Logona.

Meanwhile, amidst consumer confusion about what exactly constitutes "natural" and "organic" in the personal-care sector - and with the credibility of the industry at stake - certification bodies Ecocert (France), BDIH (Germany), the Soil Association (UK) and AIAB (Italy) have pledged to meet more frequently in order to produce a harmonized standard for natural and organic certification by June.

Currently, there are differences in the organizations' certification programs, including varying requirements related to the percentage of natural or organic ingredients a product must contain to qualify.

Under the standard in development, only products in which 95 percent of the vegetal and physically processed ingredients are organic will be able to claim organic status.

- Ryan Nelson (r.nelson@elsevier.com)

Natural/Organic Standard In EU Targeted For June; Industry Reps Form NaTrue

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