Whilst organic food is very strictly and extremely well regulated in the UK, not enough is being done to highlight the fact that this, unfortunately, is not the case for non-food products.  Under current legislation, manufacturers are able to get away with describing non-food products as “organic” even if they contain only a tiny percentage of an organic “ingredient”.  Beauty and textiles products are amongst the most common culprits for exploiting this legal loophole.

As consumers, it would be reasonable for us to expect that a product claiming to be organic would contain a high proportion of organic elements, assuming that laws were in place to protect us from misleading packaging.  With this assumption in their minds, most people who opt to buy such a product, would expect and accept paying more, in the belief that they were making a more eco-friendly and healthier choice.

Not only does this type of irresponsible marketing coax us into buying products we might not otherwise buy, but in cases such as these, the argument in favour of choosing organic becomes seriously undermined.  This is exactly the sort of opportunity that organic sceptics pounce on, in order to denounce “organic” as a fad lacking any real benefits and as a deceptive means of commanding an unjustifiable premium.

“Organic” fabrics are sometimes described as such when, in fact, there is no evidence to support this claim.  Hemp and bamboo are not automatically organic, simply because they are hemp and bamboo!  These are fabrics which are rapidly growing in popularity, as they are a very sustainable resource and require few, if any, chemicals as crops.  However, the chemicals most commonly used to extract and harvest the fibrous strands from these plants are extremely undesirable substances, which are certainly not eco-friendly and wouldn’t meet organic standards.

Recognised organic certification of any genre of product does prove that a product has met organic standards.  Organic testing can be very costly for manufacturers, so generally, if certification has been attained, the likelihood is that they – and retailers – will make a point of stating this, so it’s worth looking out for.  Certification is the only real way for a company to prove their products’ organic legitimacy.  For non-food organic items, this isn’t a compulsory or a legal requirement but many reputable companies who can afford it are now moving towards attaining official certification to support their organic statements – and will be keen to tell you if their products are certified!

Right from its conception, it was always our intention at The Organic Toy Company to address the issues detailed here.  We had quickly realised what a huge can of worms we’d opened, when researching organic textiles.  We felt a responsibility to use our website to raise awareness of the environmental horrors caused by conventional cotton farming and the ethical aspects of its unacceptable cost to human life.

All of the toys in our range have a minimum of certified 100% organically grown cotton or organic wool as the main outer fabric.  Each toy’s description states where the organic fibres were grown and where the toy was made, with the vast majority being in Europe.  The toys’ descriptions also state which organic body/bodies awarded the textiles’ certification (copies of which are available on request).  You’ll also find clear information about any dyeing, finishing processes, etc that were used (if used, they’re all eco-friendly).  Of course, we also make sure our customers know exactly what filling is used!