Organic Ingredients 100% - Self Declared is one of the declarations under the Ekko Score Organic - Chemical Free Standard.
Organic Ingredients 100% - Self Declared means this product is 100 percent made without GMOs; synthetic additives; chemicals or chemical insecticides; herbicides or fungicides; has not been treated with ionising radiation; was not manufactured or produced using nanotechnology and in no way was the natural metabolism of livestock and plants interfered with. One hundred percent of ingredients in this product are organic.
Whether a product is formally certified organic or self declared organic, it is important to know if it is organic or non organic. Often traders grow or make products that are organic, but aren’t formally certified. Sometimes this is because products don't align perfectly with formal organic standards. Sometimes the cost of official certification is high or simply over engineered for small or local traders. The difference between a certified and self declared organic product is only that the self declared claim is governed by ACCC law and the honesty of the trader rather than the oversight of the relevant organic certification body and associated legal & audit requirements.
Organic Ingredients 100% - Self Declared sits in the ORGANIC Family under the Environmental Standard: Organic - Chemical Free of Ekko Score. One set of weighted Ekko Score points are gathered from each Family.
These are the claimable declarations & certifications under the Environmental Standard: Organic - Chemical Free . Please note that different certifications and declarations may be relevant to each category.
Yes, where the impact of the claim is similar. This is how it works.
IMPORTANTLY, SELF DECLARATIONS ARE GOVERNED BY CONSUMER LAW. IT IS AGAINST THE LAW FOR BUSINESSES TO MAKE FALSE CLAIMS (INCLUDING IMPLIED CLAIMS IN A CONTEXT LIKE EKKO SCORE).
EVEN IF A PRODUCT HAS A FORMAL CERTIFICATION, THAT CERTIFICATION DOES NOT GUARANTEE THE ENTIRE INTEGRITY OF THE PRODUCT'S MAKE UP.
An example might be a Handmade, Australian, Certified Organic chocolate that contains Palm Oil. Under Ekko Score, this product would claim Certified Organic and would self declare: Zero Waste Production and Australian made, but could not claim the No Palm Oil declaration. This would mean a lower score under the Organic - Chemical Free Standard, making the inclusion of Palm Oil clear to potential consumers, without detracting from its other assets.
No product is perfect, but some products are definitely better than others. Ekko Score allows you to make the best decision you can, or to put it another way, the least worst decision. And to make that decision with the confidence of not being green washed. Find out more about how Ekko Score works.