NSF International’s “NSF/ANSI 305: Made with Organic Personal Care Products” has been adopted as a national standard in the U.S., allowing for labeling and marketing of personal care products made with organic ingredients.

NSF/ANSI 305 is also the only consensus-based standard for made with organic personal care products, which means it was developed based on balanced participation from key stakeholder groups, including organic personal care manufacturers, trade associations, regulators, organic program administrators, organic product retailers and other stakeholders from the organic products community. The new standard allows “made with organic” claims for products with organic content of 70% or more that comply with all other requirements of the standard. Products covered by the standard include rinse-off and leave-on personal care and cosmetic products, as well as oral care and personal hygiene products.

According to the Natural Foods Merchandiser’s Market Overview 2007 study, organic personal care is one of the fastest growing sectors in natural products store sales, seeing 21% growth and estimated to be a $537 million category.

This new standard establishes materials, processes, production criteria and conditions specifically for made with organic personal care products. The NSF 305 personal care logo will identify personal care products that have achieved certification to the standard.

“We are very pleased to announce that NSF/ANSI 305 is now an American National Standard,” said Jane Wilson, NSF Standards Director. “This ‘made with organic’ ingredients standard reflects the dedicated efforts of the stakeholders’ work and provides the foundation for consistent national voluntary requirements for ‘made with organic’ personal care products.”