Retraction on Made From Earth Review

There’s a first time for everything, right?

Remember my review on “Made from Earth” beauty products? I had a “bad” vibe from the beginning that this company was not really up front with me about their products being organic. Maybe some are but I don’t think all of them are and they are using the words like “Organic”, “Holistic” and “Chem-Free” on their bottles and I think they are misleading. I hemmed and hawed about doing the review. But any time I had a question, the marketing rep answered me, albeit vaguely.

But other than the replies to my questions, I couldn’t find any more information about their ingredients. I wasn’t happy still, so I did to some research on organic labeling. And when I asked about their USDA labeling and if they are certified by USDA, I was told that they are not certified by USDA because their formulation change constantly and that USDA logo will be removed from the product packaging. Also, that they are now certified by Oregon Tilth and that they are inspected annually. But the USDA logo is still on the website. I assumed it also was going to be removed. But it has not.

Even after I posted the review, my gut still didn’t feel right about the rep’s answers. So I asked for the certificates from OTCO, proving that their products are indeed certified organic by them.

The rep referred me to the general manager of the factory on April 25th and I still haven’t heard from them.

I know the giveaway ended and I should be selecting a winner for the person to receive the Green Tea Toxin Cleanser but in all honesty, I will not be recommending this company’s products to my readers.

I am sorry. I apologize.

I am thankful to one commenter, Sage, who prompted me look into this matter further. I asked the company about the USDA logo on their website but didn’t receive an answer if it will be removed.

I am disappointed to do this retraction as I never did this before. I always like to give the benefit of doubt when dealing with companies for reviews but I do my due diligence, especially when it comes to greenwashing. And when a company approaches me to do a review, I expect them to be honest and be up front about their products and the company’s philosophy. I didn’t approach Made from Earth; they approached me to do the review. And while I do my best to be honest and be fair, if I can’t gather the facts, then, I can’t in my good conscience recommend them blindly. And if I am wrong about Made from Earth, I hope they will contact me and let me know that I was wrong about them.

I am thankful to my readers who read my reviews and trust my words. So for this reason, I am retracting my recommendation of Made From Earth and I am sorry.

I made a mistake.

Filed Under: Reviews

Karen, I think you need to do more research on organic labeling before condemning a company as being not organic and liars. There are many variations to organic labeling - and even though I have not heard of Made from Earth before reading your retraction - as I look at their labels on their site, they are in compliance with the NOP as identified below (they seem to fall in category #3 from the NOP's website): 1) "100% Organic" This means just what the name implies. Dried organic herbs are a perfect example. 2) "Organic" The category "Organic" applies to products containing a minimum of 95% organic contents by weight. Usually, these are products that contain a small amount of a natural preservative or processing aid that prevents them from reaching the 100% mark. For example, many fixed oils (such as palm and coconut oil) contain a trace amount of citric acid to increase their shelf life. Importantly, these trace ingredients must conform to the USDA's list of approved ingredients that can be used in organic products. 3) "Made with Organic..." "Made with Organic..." applies to products that contain a minimum of 70% organic content but do not reach the 95% mark. The USDA has determined that 70% is the minimum amount of organic content a product can have and still use the terminology of "organic" in its labels and marketing. Here too, a product's ingredients that are not-certified organic must conform with the USDA's list of allowable products.

ecokaren

TJ, I am not condemning or calling them a liar - just that if they are not certified by USDA, as the rep said, why are they using the USDA logo on their products and their website? If they are certified by OTCO, why aren't they using that logo? Also, I am well aware of the NOP organic labeling guidelines as I DID my research - why do you think I said in my original review about the percentage of ingredients seemed vague as I thought 2 ingredients out of about nineteen ingredients (of which, majority of them are stated as being vitamins but from where???) didn't seem to constitute the required percentage to be called "Organic" as they are. They don't use the term, "Made with Organic" They use the term "Organic", "Holistic" and "Chem-Free", which means 95% or more should be organic ingredients. Not only that, the ingredients listed on the website for some of the products, Green Tea Toxin Cleanser, for example, are not the same as the product that was sent to me to review. So there's a discrepancy with even the listed ingredients. And some ingredients are chemicals that NOP might not even approve of.

May 3, 2011 by Karen Lee 15 Comments

14 comments

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ParisK

I agree with Adele.

Adele

Sort of. There is a difference between certifying ingredients (logo allowed on marketing materials) vs certifying a product (logo allowed on product). You can ONLY use the USDA logo on your products, if the entire product is certified. You can only use the USDA logo on your website (or other marketing materials) if your ingredients are certified - but then you cannot use the logo on the actual product labels. It is confusing - but kudos for sharing on your blog.

I believe you both are talking about 2 different things! I have worked in skincare for over 20 years and here is how I hope I can clarify: There is a difference between putting the USDA logo on a website vs a product: Product with 95%+ organic ingredients = Certified organic, can use the USDA logo on their product. Product with 70%+ organic ingredients = Organic, can use the USDA logo (and the word organic) on marketing materials, but may not put the logo on products. If this company is 70%+ organic, then they should not be putting the USDA logo on their products. However, they are allowed to call their products organic (just not certified).

Adele, Thanks for the comment. So if a company uses organic ingredients but is NOT certified by USDA but is by another third party like Oregon Tilth, can it use USDA logo on its products and on its website? And if they claim that over 85% of their ingredients are organic and aren't using the word "certified by (blank)" but using the word "organic", does that mean we should trust that the ingredients are organic but not certified by any organization. Is that correct? I guess my impression of this company is that since I am not completely confident of their labeling issues, I am not sure if I'd even trust that their ingredients are even organic.

I understand that Karen. I didnt think there was a difference between "Made with organic" as oppose to "organic"!

Hi TJ, See how confusing organic labeling is? I was hoping that companies would be straight forward and use the NOP guidelines accordingly and not abuse the labeling system. Having said, I'm still waiting to hear back from the company.

Erin from Long Island

Awww.....hun, I am sending you a HUGE internet hug! It hurts when you are deceived, and greenwashing is a very lucrative business right now. You are a fearless eco-warrior and I think you are doing the right thing!

Diana

You are much more vigilant than I am, and I commend you on that. I don't always think to question things the way you did, and I don't know if I would retract though I believe you are very correct in the way you handled it. Good for you!

Small Footprints

Thank you! If we all took a stand and refused to use/buy questionable products, manufacturers would be forced to do the right thing or go out of business. It's too easy to look the other way ... and in doing so, unethical companies are allowed to do business in a way that harms the environment (and ultimately us). I applaud your decision and thank you for protecting your readers and the earth!

I thought I can trust what companies say on their labels but not all of them are. I am still not 100% knowledgeable about organic labeling and until I know for sure, I do not want to recommend any company as being organic if I am not certain. And if I have to retract a statement or a recommendation because of new information I learned, I have no problem doing that. I don't want my readers to be misinformed because of me. Thank you for understanding.

Jen on the Edge

I think it's great that you're willing to do the research necessary to find out what you need to know, even if that means that you have to print a retraction later. Kudos to you!