The Ecocert Paradox: “Natural” Washed

Rebrand them!

Slap a certification logo on the label. Call them “nature-identical” or “plant-derived".

But look behind the marketing and you’ll find an uncomfortable truth. Many of the preservatives approved by Ecocert and COSMOS — the gold standard of “natural” certification — are:

Synthetically manufactured — benzyl alcohol and dehydroacetic acid are produced through chemical synthesis, not extracted from plants

Only “nature-identical” — a euphemism meaning “we made it in a lab but the molecule also exists in nature somewhere”

Often less effective than conventional options, requiring higher concentrations or multi-preservative cocktails to actually work

Still potentially sensitising — benzyl alcohol is a known allergen flagged by dermatologists, particularly problematic for eczema, rosacea, and sensitive skin

The certification isn’t about safety. It’s about origin-story marketing. 

A synthetic chemical doesn’t become natural because someone stamped a green leaf on the packaging!

Olive-derived emulsifiers. Sugar-based surfactants. “Plant-origin” polysorbates. The marketing has changed. The chemistry hasn’t.

Many so-called natural emulsifiers are also:

Heavily processed — Olivem 1000 may start from olive oil, but it goes through extensive chemical modification (esterification, ethoxylation) to become an emulsifier.

Chemically indistinguishable from synthetic versions — the final molecule is the same regardless of whether the starting material was petroleum or coconut.

Still barrier-disrupting — their mechanism of action is identical to conventional emulsifiers

Only “natural” by origin story — the raw material came from a plant, but the finished ingredient is a lab-manufactured surfactant