In the beauty jargon, “natural" and "clean" are not synonymous. In fact, the term "natural" constitute one of the elements of "clean." Free Your Skins motto is ask about the source of the ingredient, as well as potential safety, sustainability and ethical concerns. The idea is to encourage for more transparency and more available information in a supply chain that is often hidden and full of marketing claims.
Here’s how we define the following:
Organic
Products “sold as organic” must contain at least 70% organic material. If the product contains less than 70%organic material, then the company may note which ingredients are certified organic on the ingredient list, but not on the front label.
Natural
Natural ingredients come from natural sources (not synthetic). This means that they can be found in nature in the same or mostly the same chemical form as the ingredient in the product (e.g. fruit seed oils, clays, essential oils).
Naturally-derived (including Plant-based, Bio-based, Mineral-based)
The ingredient came from plant or mineral but has been processed and/or combined with other ingredients which may be synthetic (e.g. Zinc oxide that is coated, or Cocamidopropyl betaine from coconut fatty acids and synthetic feedstocks)
Renewable and/or Sustainable
These materials are natural ingredients that do not use non-renewable resources (like petroleum/petrochemicals). These raw materials are abundant and biodegradable, and grown/harvested without harmful pesticides, plantation farming methods, clear-cutting, etc. Suppliers should also implement:
- Water and waste reduction efforts.
- Environmentally sound extraction process for minerals
- Renewable energy, carbon reduction efforts
- Regenerative agriculture (Regenerative agriculture improves soil health, primarily through the practices that increase soil organic matter)
- Transitional farming (moving from “conventional” to organic)
