Jamie Matusow , Editor-in-Chief10.25.21
Meet Kimberly Heathman, founder and CEO—and green biochemist—at Nourish Organic. The beauty brand just earned USDA Organic Certification, and Heathman spoke to us about its importance.
Heathman Is a 25-Year Beauty Industry Veteran
Heathman has been in the clinical, professional, natural, wholesale and retail beauty industry for more than 25 years. She has been responsible for the creation and implementation of U.S. and international corporate strategies to support key business and marketing objectives.In addition to being a degreed biochemist, her executive roles have included product formulation and development, strategic marketing, integrated communications, and operations with Nordstrom, Allergen, SkinMedica, DevaCurl, Dr. Brandt, and MyChelle Dermaceuticals.
When she launched Nourish Organic, a skin care/body care brand—which became the first personal care brand to be certified organic by the USDA—she was focused on clean ingredients, sustainable packaging and corporate responsibility.
“Striving to be 100% sustainable is something we at Nourish Organic are very passionate about. And for each product we sell, we also donate 1% of revenues to 1% for the Planet to help further fight the impact of climate change on our environment,” said Heathman.
The Power of USDA Organic Certification
We asked Heathman about the difficulties and rewards experienced on the brand’s sustainability journey:Jamie Matusow: What insight can you share as to the challenges faced in sourcing sustainable packaging? What is Nourish Organic doing to meet these goals?
Kimberly Heathman: Finding and sourcing PCR (Post-Consumer Recycled) packaging and components has become easier, but biodegradable and plant-based plastics that are fully biodegradable, compostable and/or oxo-biodegradable is still challenging with limited suppliers.But progress is being made and new technologies are emerging, including polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) that can be broken down by living microbes. What we don’t want is to move backwards, where producing or using these new technologies requires a significant carbon footprint.
Holding true to a commitment to use eco-friendly packaging and formulations while maintaining a true social consciousness and corporate sustainability ethos is our mission. Our goal is to fully incorporate biodegradable plastics and paper into our packaging by no later than 2024.
Until then, we are decreasing our use of virgin plastic and have converted to 35% PCR (Post-Consumer Recycled), 100% recyclable plastics and 100% recyclable glass and FSC Certified packaging materials.
JM: What does it entail to get the USDA certification? Sounds like it’s not easy to earn and display the organic seal.
KH: Although it’s a very detailed, costly and time-consuming process, it’s the true ‘nature’ of our brand. Our certification is kind of like having a superpower! Organic Certification is the only standardized, government-regulated program that exists for beauty.And we know that USDA quickly conveys value, safety and sustainability to our customers, as it is a certification that people are already familiar with in the food they purchase.
Cosmetics, skin care and personal care products can only be certified organic if the ingredients are agricultural and food-grade in nature.
For the final product to display the USDA Organic seal, the ingredients must be grown on an organic farm, the manufacturing facility must also be certified, and the product must contain at least 95% organic ingredients.
The other 5% of ingredients must be on the National Organic Program’s National List of Approved Substances.
What’s also important to note is that it is both illegal and misleading for a product to claim to be or use the word ‘organic’ if it does not contain at least 70% organic ingredients and is certified by either the USDA or NSF in compliance with the NOP (Natural Organic Program).
As far as the process, beyond submitting an application and paying a fee per product registration on a yearly basis, the minimum requirements are:
- Provide an annual organic plan describing all the safeguards to ensure proper handling of organic material.
- Provide the organic certificates from each supplier for each organic ingredient used in each of our organic products.
- Provide a quality assurance plan that includes extensive record-keeping—audited every year—to guarantee the organic integrity of the product through continuous traceability: from receipt of the raw material, to release of the product, and ultimately sale to the consumer.
JM: What was the impetus behind creating this brand in such a sustainable matter?
KH: This is something which touches our soul, as being the first personal care brand to be certified organic by the USDA, and the basis for ingredient sustainability.We understand that true sustainability goes beyond packaging. It involves the entire lifecycle of growth, harvest, production and delivery of a product and its ingredients, or as we put it, from ‘soil to soul.’
As a green biochemist, I fear that we have become so engrossed in the single idea that eco-packaging is the final frontier of sustainability in beauty, that we have failed to recognize that the very ingredients which comprise skin care are also contributing to climate change.
Consumers are also asking the questions:
- Do the good-for-you ingredients in my product have an environmental impact?
- Are the ingredients ethically sourced?
- Are they biodegradable, or will they harm our lakes, streams and oceans once they wash down the drain?
- Can the ingredients be traced, and what type of chemical processing has taken place to alter their natural state?
Earning the Organic Seal on our products provides transparency and assurance to our customers around our sustainable ingredient growth and production practices.