By Kim Tong-hyung
Staff Reporter
Organic and natural beauty supplies are the fastest growing segment of the cosmetics market, but consumer rights advocates are now questioning whether these products are really green.
Consumers are more health-conscious than ever and the anger over the recent discovery of talc containing asbestos in baby powders, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals have organic products flying off local shelves.
Lotte Department Store said the sales of its brands, such as Aveda and Origins, have more than doubled from last year's numbers, and Hyundai Department Store is also reporting a significant increase in the sales of similar products.
``Consumers are increasing looking for products verified as organic items, and we really got a lot of inquiries around the talc fiasco,'' said a sales manager at Lotte Department Store's Sogong-dong outlet.
``Brands like Aveda, Kiehl's, L'occitane are becoming popular.''
The growing sales indicate that consumers in general are trusting these organic products to be healthier for their bodies and also for the environment. Obviously, many of them would be appalled to know that the Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA) has no answer when asked ``just what is an organic beauty product?''
The country has yet to establish certification standards for companies using the word ``organic'' in brand names, thus failing to control how much of a product is made from organic elements. There also aren't any requirements for companies to display the ``organic percentages'' of their products on packaging.
So, in many cases, a consumer would have no idea whether the lotion they just bought uses 90 percent organic ingredients or less than 1 percent.
And, despite all the claims about cleanness, a wide range of organic beauty supplies, such as shampoos and lotions, were found to contain undesirable substances known to linked with health problems.
A report by Consumers Korea, a Seoul-based civic group, found that seven out of nine organic baby products sold here contain substances that are identified as potential health hazards by American's Environmental Working Group and the European Consumers' Organization (BEUC).
The Nuk Natural Diaper Cream, a popular baby product imported by Boryung Medience, contains polyethylene glycol (PEG) compounds and paraben preservatives, chemicals that are believed to increase the risk of a variety of cancers.
PEG compounds were also found in Boryung's Pureganic Baby Body & Hair Wash and the company's Nuk Classic Face Cream contained levels of benzyl alcohol, which was also found in L'occitane Korea's Mom & Baby Cream and Skinvery Nature Baby Shampoo & Bath and Baby Cream.
And many products branded as ``organic,'' ``natural'' and ``green'' aren't revealing their usage of organic ingredients on their packages, which includes Boryung's Nuk Classic Face Cream and Dr. Atomild Essential Moisture Wash, Yuhan-Kimberly's Green Finger products, and Johnson & Johnson's Soothing Natural baby products.
``Consumers trust organic baby products to be safer than others, but you can argue that such beliefs aren't backed by much logic,'' said Jin Jeong-ran, an official from Consumers Korea.
``The products are taking advantage of consumer fears erupting from the talc fiasco and exploiting the country's lack of regulations in handling organic products.''