About Our Brands
If you want more info about any of the manufacturers/brands of natural products that we rate here, this page gives you an overview of each one, in alphabetical order.
Aubrey Organics:
http://www.aubreyorganics.com
Aubrey Organics is one of the oldest organic and natural skincare companies around. Founded in 1967, by Aubrey Hampton, Aubrey Organics has continued to add more and more high quality all-natural skin, hair, and personal care products to their offerings throughout the years, formulating a total of over 200 plant-based, synthetic-free products. Most of their products are packaged in recycleable containers and contain a high percentage of organically grown ingredients, and all are made by hand in small batches to ensure quality. Highly reviewed by consumers, Aubrey Organics sports a loyal and devoted fan base of satisfied customers.
Burt's Bees:
http://www.burtsbees.com
Burt's Bees has been in business for over 25 years. They focus on creating all-natural products, and according to their website, over half of their 150 or so products are 100% natural. They also strive for truth in labeling, and include the percentage of natural ingredients in each product right on the label. Their website claims they are shooting for 100% natural for every product - saying they are "currently aggressively pursuing this goal through reformulations and testing." In conjunction with the Natural Products Association, they helped promote the Natural Standard for Personal Care Products (you may have seen these logos around - if you haven't keep an eye out for them). Burt's Bees also uses recycled packaging where possible, and reusable containers for many of their products.
Miessence Organics:
http:/www.mieonegroup.com
Miessence Organics brand was created by the Organic and Natural Enterprise Group (or ONEgroup), an Australian based company. According to their website, Miessence is the first organic skin care product line certified to food standards. Their products are independently certified by an internationally recognized third party. Every ingredient is safe (in fact, edible) and good for your skin. These products use only certified organic cold-pressed and unrefined oils and therapeutic grade herb and flower extracts. Products are also cold-formulated so precious oils are never exposed to damaging heat. (Miessence products are available in the US, but only from a few suppliers. See our individual Miessence product rating pages for links to some US suppliers.)
Miessence has two kinds of products - those that are "Certified Organic" contain agricultural products which conform to the USDA certified organic standards. They also have "Registered" products. These products contain more than 5% mineral-based ingredients that are nonagricultural and therefore not certifiable ingredients under organic agricultural standards. (eg: clay, bicarb soda, minerals). All of the ingredients in these products comply with the strict processing criteria for organic products (eg: absolutely no GMOs or synthetics chemicals). These products bear the BFA Registered Product logo.
Organic Fiji
http://www.organicfiji.com
Organic Fiji is a new but fast-growing company founded in 2003 by Bob Rogers while on vacation to the Fiji Islands. While traveling, Bob stumbled across a coconut plantation producing 100% Organic Extra-Virgin coconut oil in a sustainable and environmentally friendly manner. He then sourced materials from this plantation to create his unique line of 100% natural and organic skin care products - all based on natural coconut oil. This small company has quickly developed a loyal and even fanatical following, with many users boasting superior results and even clearing of chronic skin problems. Most of Organic Fiji's products feature only 2-3 ingredients, and offer superior quality and gentle care for even the most sensitive skin. We started rating Organic Fiji's products at the recommendation of my sister, who had experienced troubling excema on her face for some time before discovering their moisturizer. Unfortunately as it is such a new and small company, many of their products are not yet rated in EWG's safety database, but the ones that are get top safety ratings, and hopefully more will be added soon.
Physician's Formula - Organic Wear:
http://www.physiciansformula.com
Physician's Formula is a well-known cosmetics manufacturer established in 1937. Their focus is creating high-quality hypo-allergenic cosmetics specially formulated for sensitive skin. They claim to exclude over 100 known irritating ingredients often found in other mainstream cosmetic products. Physician's Formula is NOT an all-natural brand, but they introduced their Organic Wear line several years ago in response to the growing demand for safer and more natural products. Items in the Organic Wear line are cruelty-free, 100% natural, and at least partially organic, and have become quite popular among customers in the past few years. They also make some cosmetics that are hard to find elsewhere in a natural formulation, such as eye-makeup and concealer. We only rate the products in the Organic Wear line, since these are the only natural products made by this company at this time.
Yes To:
http://www.yestocarrots.com
Yes To, a fairly new company (known by many as Yes to Carrots, but they actually have several other brands such as Yes to Cucumbers, Yes to Tomatoes, and Yes to Blueberries, for different skin and hair types, as well as their baby line, Yes to Baby) creates several natural product lines of skin and hair care. Yes To products are free of parabens, SLS, phthalates, and petroleum products. This new and fast-growing company now has products in over 28,000 stores world-wide. Prices are reasonable, and quality is high, but most of their products are NOT 100% natural. Most of them are in the range of 95-98% natural, however, but just be aware of this.