In 2011, the first "organic water" hit the shelves of America, well and truly confirming the fact that people will buy anything. Organic is one of those words that gets thrown around a lot: organic flowers, organic soup, organic creams, organic crisps, organic cabbage, and much more. You name it, chances are someone has slapped an organic label on it at some point. But what does it actually mean? More importantly, how do you know when it matters and makes a difference?

What Does Organic Mean?

In its original scientific use, organic simply meant it had carbon in it. When it comes to products, this is unhelpful for about a million reasons; the main reason being that pretty much every living thing contains carbon (rather ironically water doesn’t). Clearly manufacturers aren’t bursting with pride about their chemistry knowledge, so what’s that label really trying to say?

Simply put, organic means that the ingredients in your product have been grown using 100% natural farming methods. This means no artificial fertilisers, pesticides or growth regulators, and absolutely no trace of GM crops have made their way from the fields into your skincare. 

Organic regulations vary from country to country and often mean that pesticides have been used, just in lower quantities than usual. Likewise, some products will use terms such as “contains natural ingredients” or “made with organic ingredients”. These can mean that as little as twenty percent of the finished product is actually organically sourced.

How Can I Be Sure a Product is Organic?

The best way to sort the (organic) wheat from the chaff is to read the label carefully and look for organic certification on a product. The most well-recognised and comprehensive are from the soil association and COSMOS. The first guarantees that 95% of the ingredients are organic (the other 5% are typically things that aren’t grown, such as clay) while the latter is a guarantee that the methods are sustainable and caring for the environment. This includes no synthetic colours, dyes or fragrances, plus absolutely no testing on animals.

Benefits of Organic Beauty Products

Organic doesn’t just mean that you avoid nasty chemicals, it means that the environment avoids them too. To get that sought-after certification, producers have to take care during the whole process. From rotating crops (so as to stop soil degrading) to making sure there’s no impact on surrounding wildlife, organic produce is a step towards a kinder, more sustainable future.

A simple switch to using organic beauty products means you can do your part to help the environment, without compromising on the quality of your products. The benefits of using organic beauty products stretch far beyond this, so here at UpCircle, we’ve outlined some of the many benefits of making the switch to organic beauty:

• Organic products are gentler on your skin as there’s no chemicals or other harmful substances – you just get the good stuff!
• Organic products are much kinder to the planet, as nature is impacted less and pesticides are not released into the environment.
• Organic products are non-allergenic, meaning they are significantly less likely to give you an allergic reaction, inflammation, or irritation.

An additional benefit of fully organic products is the peace of mind that comes with knowing that ingredients are fully natural, devoid of irritating chemicals and loaded with nourishing vitamins, minerals and nutrients.

UpCircle’s Organic Skincare Products

We put every effort into ensuring that our products are certified organic. Our Face Oil is 98% organic and our Chai Soap Bars are 70% organic – the rest of the ingredients are water, salts or clay, which cannot be organic. 

Our commitment to circular economy principles sometimes means organic certification is not possible. But this doesn’t mean that the ingredients we use are not organic. Ethical sourcing will always be a top priority.

For example, our signature coffee scrubs are made from used coffee grounds that we collect from artisan coffee shops. We choose those coffee shops based on their ethics and the quality of the coffee. However, as the coffee makes up over half of the overall formulations, we are not able to certify the products, despite the ingredients being organic. Similarly, both our manufacturers are certified organic. So again, even if our products are not certified because of our use of upcycled ingredients, the ingredients are organic where possible.

The UpCircle Soaps, and Oil are all certified organic products. At the end of the day, organic products leave you with a glow quite unlike any other. So when you use UpCircle’s products, you can take a well-deserved seat and relax – just maybe leave the organic water alone!