The demand for natural cosmetics has been increasing for years. Fewer and fewer consumers are ready to expose their skin to the multitude of chemical ingredients in conventional cosmetics that are known to be irritating, allergenic or even carcinogenic. When looking for cosmetics with natural, pure and harmless ingredients, you will soon come across a variety of different certifications for natural and organic cosmetics. They are advertised as a reliable guide through the jungle of ingredients, but on closer inspection they all too often prove to be a deceptive marketing tool. Also read this article: How Meaningful Are Natural Cosmetic Certifications really?
Organic cosmetics versus natural cosmetics
Unfortunately, the term natural cosmetics is not clearly defined by law, just like the term organic cosmetics. Even the absence of problematic ingredients such as microplastics or petroleum-based substances is not common to all natural cosmetics standards, so there is no such thing as natural cosmetics.
According to the well-known Ecocert certification, for example, 95 percent of the herbal ingredients in organic cosmetics must have been grown organically. However, 5% of the ingredients may still be petroleum-based and another 5% do not have to come from organic farming.
For natural cosmetics, slightly lower standards apply according to Ecocert. So only at least 50% of the plant ingredients have to be organic and at least 10% of the total ingredients, taking the water content of the product into account. Such seals make orientation more complicated than offering orientation.
At myrto, where available, all plant-based raw materials used are from certified organic cultivation (kbA) or controlled wild collection. The organically produced vegetable oils are either cold-pressed or are extracted gently and without solvents and allergens using pure spring carbons.
Vegan cosmetics
Especially those who eat vegan place value on purely herbal natural care products. After all, there are already about 1 million people in Germany who eat without animal products - and the trend is increasing.
Vegan cosmetics do not automatically have to be natural cosmetics. It is only free of ingredients that are produced by or from animals. So it can be conventional cosmetics that use the vegan trend for your advertising - “green washing”. When buying your cosmetics, therefore, pay attention to 100% vegan natural cosmetics.
Almost all of the now over 70 myrto organic products are vegan. The only exception is currently myrto hair wax. The beeswax it contains from organic beekeeping will soon be replaced by the vegetable candelilla wax.
Natural cosmetics without animal testing
We support the vision of a future society that recognizes that the protection of people, animals and the environment is inextricably linked - a world in which animal rights are recognized, demanded and enforced.
Animal welfare and the ban on animal testing have been EU standards in cosmetics since 2013. This is an important step. Nevertheless, individual ingredients may have been tested in animal experiments beforehand or animal experiments may have been commissioned. Therefore, the animal rights organization PETA only accepts cosmetics manufacturers with clear guidelines against animal testing and their commissioning. All myrto products have been included in the PETA positive list and bear the PETA logo "cruelty-free".
Myrto is also a partner of animal.fair. All our products are listed in the “Ethik.Guide”, the ethical shopping guide for animal-free and sustainable consumption.
What should you consider when buying vegan organic natural cosmetics?
Neither one of the numerous natural cosmetics standards nor the sale of cosmetics in health food stores or organic food stores is a guarantee that the skin-friendly, vegan natural or organic cosmetics are concerned. It's best to take a close look at all the ingredients. Pay particular attention to hormonally active chemicals as ingredients in cosmetics, such as parabens. Here the BUND ToxFox app helps you to find out products that contain such substances. Otherwise, the code check app offers a detailed evaluation of your cosmetics with their individual ingredients.