Organic September is a month-long campaign ran by the soil association which aims to raise awareness of Organic products, and the brands, producers and farmers who bring them to us in the UK. There are a host of reasons to look into using more organic products in your life from helping the planet, reducing our own toxic load to improved soil health and wildlife health globally.
After heatwaves across the globe this summer the ever-changing climate has been brought to our attention more than ever. I am committing more than ever to bring in changes within my business and home to create more conscious choices.
We now have access to a wealth of information and can research and decide on things for ourselves and as everyone has different opinions and values the outcome on issues will always be different but there is no denying the organic and the sustainability movement is growing in all aspects of living and it is something I am constantly improving within the treatment room and within the training that I offer.
Many therapists like to use the most natural and organic products in their treatment room if they can as it cuts down on potential sensitivity and often is a good quality guarantee so it is important to find authentic and reliable suppliers. As a consumer it can be even more confusing as there are shelves and shelves full of options. COSMOS and soil association are logos you can look for on products you wish to use that guarantee their status but for some smaller suppliers are costly and unattainable so be sure to ask them a lot of questions if they are claiming their products are wild farmed / harvested or grown pesticide free.
It is worth noting that for chemists that create all the products we use in treatments and the definition of organic is very different to what we might assume it might be based on our experience of the food industry. Organic compounds and inorganic compounds form the basis of chemistry. The primary difference between organic vs. inorganic compounds is that organic compounds always contain carbon while most inorganic compounds do not contain carbon. This is a little trick I picked up spending 5 years as head of a cosmetic formulation department - Water makes up at least 80% of creams and lotions and contains no carbon so only 20% of the ingredients could be classed as organic. If you see lotion or cream labelled as 100% organic, I would recommend steering clear. It also means as per current UK labelling laws that if your product contains carbon (most do) then you can say it is organic because that is the technical definition.
You need to be savvy when checking out the market but you can also grow your own just like you can vegetables. You can plant herbs and flowers such as lavender and calendula to create your own ready made massage oils and then you know they have not had any pesticides on although you do have to watch out for bugs when harvesting. I am also always on hand for advice or bespoke product making if you don’t want the hassle of sifting through product ingredients or trying to create your own.
Whether you choose organic or not it is worth thinking of your impact on the environment and where you could potentially recycle more or simplify your use of things.
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