Hain Celestial Group’s Avalon Organics skin care brand, which is sold at such retailers as Whole Foods, Target, Walmart and drug stores, has transitioned its line of personal care products to the NSF/ANSI 305 Standard for Personal Care Products Containing Organic Ingredients. With this transition, Avalon Organics also has revamped its Vitamin C Renewal, Lavender Luminosity, CoQ10 Repair and Essential Lift skin care lines.

Unlike organic foods and beverages, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has not created specific organic standards for formulating and labeling personal care products that contain organic ingredients. NSF/ANSI 305, which is specific to personal care products that contain organic ingredients, has established the materials, processes, production criteria and conditions that must be met in order for a brand to call itself organic. Under this standard, all personal care products with “contain organic ingredients” claims (other than in ingredient lists) must contain a minimum organic content of 70%. In addition, formulas must contain only ingredients that have gone through rigorous evaluation by a scientific panel and have been approved by NSF.

Avalon Organics has been working to meet this standard for several years. In that time, the reformulation work insured that all products contain at least 70% organic content, all ingredients are approved by NSF and the labeling has been updated. The revamped products will begin shipping in fourth quarter 2011.

As mentioned earlier, Avalon Organics also has revamped its Vitamin C Renewal, Lavender Luminosity, CoQ10 Repair and Essential Lift skin care lines. For example, its Essential Lift collection is infused with more oceanic minerals, and the improved Lavender Luminosity collection contains skin-brightening kombucha to support skin renewal and a radiant appearance.