Do you know the industry standards for organic cosmetics/personal care products?

The USDA National Organic Program regulates the use of the term organic on labels of cosmetic and personal care product if it is made from agricultural ingredients.
That’s right. If you use botanical oils or butter, USDA regulates your use of the term “organic” on your labels.
To use the term “organic” on your label, (the ingredients and) the product must be certified NOP. The leaders in the industry already comply.
Standards for organic body care follow the percentages required by the national program for food, USDA NOP:
• If all ingredients meet organic processing standards it may state 100% organic (excluding water and salt) , the label may use the term100% organic;
• With 95% organic ingredients (excluding water and sale), the label may state "organic".
• If 70% of the product’s ingredients are organic, the label can claim "Made with organic ingredients," and these ingredients can be denoted on ingredient section the label or the primary display panel can state, for example, “Made with organic lavender.” It is not eligible for the NOP seal.
• With less than 70% organic ingredients, the term organic may not be displayed on the principle display panel. The product is not eligible for the NOP seal. However, the ingredients may be marked as organic on the ingredient panel.
One important caveat exists: The USDA has no authority over the production and labeling of cosmetics, body care products, and personal care products that are not made up of agricultural ingredients, or do not make any claims to meeting USDA organic standards.
For greater detail, see:
http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/getfile?dDocName=STELPRDC5068442
A natural standard has also been put in place by the Natural Products Association, of which Duerst Lahti Global are proud are members.
http://www.npainfo.org/index.php?src=gendocs&ref=NaturalStandard_new&category=NaturalStandard
At Duerst Lahti Global we work with sources to secure US NOP certification. Let us know what you’re interested in finding.

Baobab Oil - From Africa with Love!

Duerst Lahti Global is delighted to offer a wonderful new oil from Africa!  Baobab oil is relatively new to the United States, and DLG carries both organic and conventional in various quantities.  Baobab oil is used in cosmetic formulation or can be applied "neet" - as is.
Request a sample and try it yourself.

Botanical name: Adansonia digitata
Family: Bombacaceae
Common names:  Boab, boaboa, bottle tree, upside-down tree, monkey bread tree

The Tree

The baobab tree, perhaps Africa’s most famous tree, is found throughout the continent, generally at low altitudes and hot, dry areas.  So widespread is the tree that it has become symbolic of the continent itself.  Its thick, grey, fibrous trunk can reach 25 meters in circumference and large, spreading crown, seasonally devoid of foliage, is instantly recognizable. Baobabs are long-lived, with some believed 3,000 years old. The Baobab fruit yellowish-green and contains a number of seeds in a white, powdery pulp. The pulp itself makes a tasty food or, after soaking in water or milk, a refreshing beverage.  The pure baobab oil is extracted from the seeds.

Uses

Baobab oil a “fixed” oil, not essential or volatile, oil and will not burn when used neat on the skin.  As it is so rich and nourishing, baobab oil can used in small percentages in creams, lotions, body butters and other skin care formulations. The oil contains vitamins A, D, E and F.  Vitamins A and F (a polyunsaturated fatty acid) are actively involved in the rejuvenation and renewal of cell membranes, while vitamin E is a superior antioxidant, which helps to fight aging.

Baobab oil is easily and quickly absorbed by the skin, leaves no oiliness or greasiness, and serves as well for intensive hair care.  Baobab oil does more than just moisturize skin; the rich, golden oil also helps to improve skin elasticity, encourages regeneration of skin cells and does not clog the pores.  It is also said to alleviate pain from burns and regenerates the epithelial tissues in a short time, thereby improving skin tone and elasticity. With its omega 3, 6 and 9 content, the oil is helpful in treating symptoms of eczema and psoriasis.

Properties

Baobab oil is a clear, pale, yellow-gold color with a slightly nutty scent.  The oil has a long shelf life, but it should be stored in a cool environment with low to no light.

Another Natural Beauty Award for Swazi Secrets

Another of the Swazi Secrets product range has received an award from a leading UK magazine.

Following the success of their marula oil in the Elle UK magazine’s 2010 Beauty Awards, Swazi Secrets Ximenia Oil is now getting in on the act by being Highly Commended in the Best Body Oil section of the Green Parent Natural Beauty Awards 2011. The Green Parent is the UK’s leading green lifestyle and natural parenting magazine.

Ximenia oil is cold pressed from the seeds of ematfundvulula, gathered by Swazi rural women who sell them to their own company, Swazi Indigenous Products for E9.15 per Kg. Its special qualities are in moisturizing dry scalp and in treating chapped skin.

Commercial Manager, Zanele Nsibande, commented “It’s really great to get another award from the UK for one of our products. A rapidly growing number of European customers love the natural qualities of Swazi Secrets. In fact, they like them so much that the products are now on sale in 16 European countries.”

Mongongo oil - not just for breakfast!

We frequently get questions about the various oils we carry.  Many are relatively new, and thus unknown, in this country, e.g., mongongo oil.  Where is mongongo oil from?  What does anyone do with it?  Is it edible?

To answer that last question first, yes, mongongo oil is edible.  In fact, we carry organic mongongo oil, so - according to USDA regulations - it must be edible. However, our mongongo oil is not intended for consumption, but rather the cosmetic industry.

The oil originates in Africa.  It is a product of the mongongo tree, specifically obtained from the seeds of the plum-like fruit. Mongongo fruit and nuts are commonly consumed by local people in Zimbabwe, Zambia, Angola, Mozambique, and Malawi and is a staple food among the San bushmen of northern Botswana and Namibia. The dried, crumbly flesh of old fruit is edible for as long as eight months. Some bushmen remove the flesh from the fresh fruit, dry it in the sun, and store it for later use.
The mongongo nuts are cold-pressed, without use of solvents or other chemicals, to obtain the oil, which with its hydrating, skin regenerating, and restructuring properties, is used in a range of skin and beauty products, including creams, lotions, sun care products, lip balms, massage oil, and body butter formulations at 5-10%. Mongongo oil is used by the !Kung bushmen of the Kalahari to cleanse and moisturize their skin, and – because mongongo oil is a natural sunscreen - protection against the harsh desert environment.
The kernel has a protein content of about 25%, and a fat content of about 57% fat, and of this, about 43% are polyunsaturated - almost entirely linoleic acid, about 17% saturated fats (palmitic and stearic), and about 18% monounsaturated (oleic). The kernel contains calcium, magnesium, iron, copper, zinc, thiamine, riboflavin, nicotinic acid, and high concentrations of vitamin E - around 560mg per 100 grams of kernel (almost entirely as g-tocopherol). Due to the very high g-tocopherol content, the oil is very stable, which is proven in the heat of Southern Africa where the oil does not become rancid. Because of the high levels of vitamin E (tocopherol), linoleic and eleostearic acids, mongongo oil is very useful for skin protection. It is effective not only for hydrating the skin, but also for restructuring and regenerating the epidermis. The eleostearic acid reacts with UV light, producing polymerization and providing a protective layer.

In short, organic mongongo oil is a wonderful ingredient for personal care products for the skin. Considering that more than 500 cosmetics sold in the United States contain chemicals banned from beauty products in Europe, Canada, and Japan, mongongo oil is a welcome addition to our product line. Anyone concerned with the ingredients found in lotions, creams, balms, and oils will find mongongo oil both safe and nourishing for
the skin.

Georgia Duerst-Lahti will again attend the Indigenous Plant Use Forum, the single most cutting edge venue of current and traditional uses by indigenous people of Southern Africa.  It takes place July 4-7 in St. Lucia, South Africa.  She will present based upon last summer's research of women's and community producer groups in Southern Africa, especially in Swaziland, where Swazi Secrets is harvested and produced.

  Her presentation is entitled,

"Empowering Local Communities through Commercializing Indigenous Plants for the US Market."

Can indigenous plants commercialized for the US market empower local communities?  If so, what impacts are evident and how does empowerment occur?  Using a month-long participant observation, structured interviews with 20 respondents, and a focus group at one producer organization, we find organized, small fair-trade activity based around indigenous botanicals has strong impact upon women’s sense of empowerment, ability to feed their households, and orientation to HIV and health generally.  This depth analysis is supplemented with profiles of two additional small producer organizations, developed through site visits, focus groups, and interviews with key informants.  Evidence suggests participation in organized (fair) trading activity contributes to efficacy, which is reflected in household gender power dynamics, as well as community status.  Further, even a small increase in income shapes how often and how well these families eat, which has direct bearing on the success of HIV treatment.

She also will visit a host of small farmer and women-run essential oil producers in order to capture their story, ensure quality, and learn about specific development needs for the US market.  She particularly will study marula trees and Kalahari melon in Botswana for their economic magnifiers on families and local economies, as well as the ecological sustainability of their oils given current wildharvest practices.

Tris Lahti, DLG Operations Director, will accompany Georgia with a particular eye toward a tighter logistical supply chain in Southern Africa.

Fair Trade Imports

We had to share this with our readers.  The article is dated today by Ariel Schwartz in www.fastcompany.com

Why Fair Trade Imports Rise Even As Buyers Shun Other Eco-Friendly Products

The Fair Trade stamp of approval has an allure that other eco-friendly products can't match. That's the conclusion we came to after learning that Fair Trade imports of coffee, vanilla, honey, tea, cocoa, sugar, and more have skyrocketed in the past five years--even while sales of "green" household products decline. So what's the Fair Trade secret sauce?
The simple answer is that people are familiar with Fair Trade, a global, organized social movement that ensures workers protect the environment, work in safe conditions, get paid reasonable wages and prices, and receive community development funds. And hearing about those people, like the enterprising banana farmer, pictured above, gets people in the mood to spend. The news about Fair Trade's growing imports comes from Fair Trade USA, the leading third-party certifier of Fair Trade products in the U.S.
According to Fair Trade USA, coffee imports (the first Fair Trade USA product) have climbed from 78,000 pounds certified in 1998 to 108 million pounds certified in 2010. Other Fair Trade products have become popular in recent years, too--cocoa saw a 67% growth in imports since 2009, and citrus experienced a 96% increase in growth in 2010. Fair Trade's ever-growing popularity led the organization to start certifying an even wider array of products in 2010, including apparel, vodka, and sports balls (now guaranteed to not be tied together by Chinese political prisoners!).
Not all Fair Trade products are organic--though many of them are--so the program's appeal certainly isn't just about the environment. We have another theory: Fair Trade certifiers are really good about highlighting the human side of the program. The first thing readers see on the Fair Trade USA site is a link to hear about farmers' stories. And the Fair Trade International site is filled with producer stories, like this one:

The Association of Small Producers of Saman and Anexos (APPBOSA) has been Fairtrade certified since the end of 2003. They have used the Fairtrade Premium to construct a cableway to transport their bananas from the trees to the packing stations....Thanks to the cableway, the farmers no longer carry the bunches of bananas on their backs from the tree to the packing station. The cableway takes the strain, improving efficiency and cutting costs. The new system also increases the percentage of non-blemished fruit suitable for export.

After years of being bombarded with stories like this, it's easy to roll your eyes. But human interest stories still pull the heart strings. It's just easier to feel good about buying a farmer- and environment-friendly product when there is a human face behind it. Are you going to spend the extra few cents at the store, or are you going to consign some poor banana farmer to an aching back? Are you really so cruel? Knowing that you're making a difference for a specific village or group of people is a lot easier to comprehend than thinking that you might contribute to some vague planetary future.

Baobab - A new superfruit!

The Baobab or "Upside Down" Tree

A recent survey in WebMD reporting that 63% of Americans are considered overweight or obese indicates that the national obsession with fad diets isn't working. What's needed is for Americans to embrace a healthy lifestyle, including exercise and good eating habits that deliver all of the vitamins, minerals and fiber the body needs.
The baobab superfruit, from the iconic baobab tree of Africa, can be a nutritional cornerstone of such a healthy eating regimen.
In addition to high fiber and antioxidants, baobab delivers more nutrients and vitamins per calorie than any other superfruit. One tablespoon serving of baobab powder in a smoothie, on yogurt or even in plain water contributes only 17 calories.
Baobab provides critical nutrients including:

Fiber—composed of 50% total fiber - 75% is solubl
Calcium—gram for gram, more calcium than milk
Vitamin C —more than orange juice
Magnesium—one of the highest levels of any fruit
Iron—more than red meat
Potassium—more than bananas and sweet potatoes
Antioxidants—more than any other fruit, including acai

Making the most of each calorie is critical. Respected nutritional expert and author, Dr. Michael Murray, states, "one of the most important factors in achieving goal weight is actually improving the nutritional quality of the diet by avoiding foods with empty calories and focusing on low-calorie, nutrient-dense foods. We need to stop assuming that all calories are alike. A perfect example of a food to focus on is baobab."
Baobab exceeds the fiber content of other popular foods, making it especially beneficial to those watching their waistlines.  Fiber promotes satiety, a feeling of fullness, helps the body eliminate harmful toxins, and can also prevent constipation, a frequent side effect of dieting.
There is no shortcut or magic pill for achieving weight goals. A healthy lifestyle, such as the one outlined by The Mayo Clinic including exercise and a healthy diet, is required for long-term success. Baobab powder is available as organic, natural and unprocessed-- no freeze drying, pasteurization, heat extraction, or sugar added. This unique superfruit delivers its potent blend of nutrients in complete synergy. As a raw, whole food Baobab provides unrivaled health benefits.