NSF recently announced its new natural personal care certification. Here at Expo West, the organization explains how manufacturers, suppliers, retailers, and even consumers can help shape the label.
NSF recently announced its new natural personal care certification. Here at Expo West, the organization explains how manufacturers, suppliers, retailers, and even consumers can help shape the label.
I’m here at Natural Products Expo West in Anaheim where NSF held its first meeting discussing the development of its new natural personal care label. If you’re looking to get involved in the shaping of this new certification, now is the time (the natural products industry’s edition of Page 6: sightings at this afternoon's meeting included regulatory big shots, natural personal care manufacturers, even members of the Natural Products Association–drama!). During the meeting, NSF’s Lorna Badman announced that the organization is seeking applications from interested stakeholders—from suppliers to manufacturers to end users, including retailers and consumers.
If you fall under the “don’t want to join a committee” category, Badman says there are other ways to get involved. And I must admit that the process, which can take anywhere from 18 months to 13 years (around how long it took to develop NSF’s organic personal care standard, NSF/ANSI 305) seems a bit unattainable even for many knowledgeable, passionate consumers. Badman urges you to stay connected on standards.nsf.org, where you can obtain working drafts and submit comments.
I’m still not sure how much of a role the consumer will play in the development of the standard. What I do know is that if NSF’s goal is to create an American National Standard for natural personal care that will gain recognition–and trust–in an industry that has arguably done a good job of confusing consumers, it will want to listen to the label-conscious shopper. So go ahead, if you’re not one of the few who can join the committee, but you still want to join the conversation, follow the process as it unfolds over the next few months and submit your comments. I think NSF will hear what you have to say.
