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For Immediate Release
March, 12 2010, 12:56pm EDT
Contact:
Naomi Starkman, CU, 917.539.3924
Alexis Baden-Mayer, OCA, 202.744.0853
CU and OCA Urge Action on Deceptive 'Organic' Labeling:
Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports,
and the Organic Consumers Association (OCA), today filed a petition
with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requesting action on the
widespread and blatantly deceptive labeling practices of several
"organic" personal care brands that do not comply with the National
Organic Program (NOP). For a copy of the complaint click here.
WASHINGTON
Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports,
and the Organic Consumers Association (OCA), today filed a petition
with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requesting action on the
widespread and blatantly deceptive labeling practices of several
"organic" personal care brands that do not comply with the National
Organic Program (NOP). For a copy of the complaint click here.
The complaint, filed on behalf of the estimated 50 million consumers of
organic products, urges the FTC to investigate and consider prohibiting
the pervasive use of organic claims on personal care products that do
not comply with the NOP.
"Consumers can be deceived and misled by the misuse of the 'organic'
label on personal care products," said Dr. Urvashi Rangan, Ph.D.,
Director of Technical Policy at Consumers Union. "The Federal Trade
Commission must act quickly and decisively to ensure consumers' ongoing
trust in the 'organic' label for all products, including personal care."
Currently, "organic" personal-care products don't have to meet the
same government standards required for organic foods. While some
ingredients may be certified as organic, the product itself may not be
and may contain unapproved synthetic ingredients. Some manufacturers
confuse the issue by including the word "organic" in their brand name,
even though it isn't clear how much of their product is actually
certified as organic. Others promote certified organic ingredients on
the label when in fact they may only make up a small percentage of a
chemical-heavy formula.
While the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) National Organic
Standards Board (NOSB) enforces strict standards for the labeling of
organic food, it has not adequately regulated or enforced organic
regulations with respect to personal care products. Last year, the NOSB
formally recommended that the NOP regulate personal care products to
ensure that any use of the word "organic" is backed up by third-party
certification to USDA organic standards. In January, OCA filed a
complaint with the USDA, urging that agency to regulate cosmetics as
they do food.
"The USDA National Organic Program has irresponsibly allowed the
market for organic personal care products to be overrun by false
organic claims," said Ronnie Cummins, Executive Director of the Organic
Consumers Association. "This kind of deception ends up eroding consumer
confidence in all organic products, even food. Hopefully, the FTC can
motivate the USDA to protect organic consumers."
LATEST NEWS
WHO Chief Warns of 'Perfect Storm of Crises' in Sudan as World Turns Its Back
"The international community has seemingly forgotten about Sudan, and is paying little heed to the conflict tearing it apart."
Sep 09, 2024
The head of the World Health Organization on Sunday warned of a devastating set of crises in war-torn Sudan and called for a stronger international response.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the WHO, a United Nations agency, delivered remarks from the city of Port Sudan following visits to health facilities in the country, which is locked in civil war and faces the prospect of a large-scale famine.
"I was shaken by the state of many of the tiny, wasted children," Ghebreyesus said.
"The scale of the emergency is shocking, as is the insufficient action being taken to curtail the conflict, and respond to the suffering it is causing," he added.
Ghebreyesus said he'd come to Sudan to draw attention to the dire situation there.
"The international community has seemingly forgotten about Sudan, and is paying little heed to the conflict tearing it apart, with repercussions in the region," he said.
#Sudan’s health system is on the verge of collapse after 16 months of war, with over 25M people in dire need of aid. “The scale of the emergency is shocking,” warns WHO chief @DrTedros. The world must wake up and act now to prevent further catastrophe.https://t.co/uuebggGhMG
— Africa Renewal, UN (@africarenewal) September 9, 2024
The two main parties in the civil war are the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), the country's official military, and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group. The two groups shared power for two years before the civil war erupted in April 2023.
The war's death toll is above 20,000, and that's an underestimate, Ghebreyesus said. Both sides have been accused of atrocities and of obstructing international aid. Parts of Sudan are facing famine and others are at risk of it; overall, 25.6 million Sudanese are expected to face high levels of food insecurity, Ghebreyesus warned.
A report issued last week by U.N. agencies and partner groups found that as of August, 8.5 million Sudanese faced "Emergency" conditions of food insecurity, the second-highest level, while 750,000 faced "Catastrophe/Famine," the highest level.
Last week, three international humanitarian groups warned that Sudan faced a hunger crisis of "historic proportions."
Dire warnings have been issued for many months but the international community has been slow to act. At a conference in Paris in April, rich countries did pledge $2.1 billion in support for Sudan, a bit less than the $2.7 billion the U.N. had sought; in any case, only $1.1 billion has actually been received in Sudan, as of the end of August.
Sudan faces the world's worst displacement crisis, with more than 10 million people having been forced to move within the country, and 2 million having left its borders, according to data cited by Ghebreyesus.
Ghebreyesus, an Ethiopian public health official who's led the WHO since 2017, said he felt a close affinity with Sudan—it's "like my home," he said—and was deeply saddened by the situation there. He described the following "perfect storm of crises":
- over 500 days of conflict;
- the largest level of displacement in the world;
- famine in some parts, and risk of this in others;
- disasters including flooding leading to dams bursting;
- disease outbreaks, including cholera, malaria, dengue, and measles, with the risk of mpox;
- multiple reported incidents of conflict-related sexual violence; and
- the near collapse of much of the country's health system.
One of the most conflict-stricken areas of the country is Darfur, which became a cause célèbre during a war in the 2000s but hasn't received the same level of international attention this time.
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UN Rights Chief: World Can't Accept Israel's 'Blatant Disregard' of International Law
"We can either continue on our current path... and sleepwalk into a dystopian future, or we can wake up and turn things around for the better," said U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk.
Sep 09, 2024
Other countries must hold Israel accountable for violating international law in its war on Gaza and escalating violence in the illegally occupied West Bank, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said Monday.
Türk's remarks came as he opened the 57th session of the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva with a wide-ranging warning about the rise of international violence and human rights violations worldwide.
Ending Israel's war on Gaza and "averting a full-blown regional conflict is an absolute and urgent priority," Türk said.
"States must not—cannot—accept blatant disregard for international law, including binding decisions of the (U.N.) Security Council and orders of the International Court of Justice, neither in this nor any other situation," he said.
In particular, Türk referenced the International Court of Justice's advisory ruling in July that Israel's occupation of Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem is illegal. The ICJ also called on Israel to evacuate its settlers from the West Bank and on other nations not to recognize Israel's occupation as legal or to render any aid to Israel that maintained the status quo.
Türk on Monday called for the situation to be "comprehensively addressed."
He added that Israel's war on Gaza had forced 1.9 million people to flee their homes since October 7, 2023, many more than once, as Hurriyet Daily Newsreported. The war has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to official figures, though experts say the true death toll is likely much higher.
"I urge voters to ask themselves which of the political platforms or candidates will work for the human rights of everyone."
Türk added that "deadly and destructive" operations in the West Bank, such as 10-day period of raids that concluded Friday, are at a scale "not witnessed in the last two decades" and are "worsening a calamitous situation."
He also spoke out for the rights of the likely more than 10,000 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons and the 101 hostages still held in Gaza.
Beyond Israel and Palestine, Türk also highlighted ongoing conflicts in Sudan and between Russia and Ukraine, noting that the international community seemed to accept the "crossing of innumerable red lines, or readiness to toe right up to them."
"We are at a fork in the road," the human rights chief advised. "We can either continue on our current path—a treacherous 'new normal'—and sleepwalk into a dystopian future, or we can wake up and turn things around for the better, for humanity, and the planet."
In a record election year, Türk argued that committing to the protection of human rights was especially important.
"I urge voters to ask themselves which of the political platforms or candidates will work for the human rights of everyone," he said.
In particular, he encouraged voters to "be wary of the shrill voices, the 'strongman' types that throw glitter in our eyes, offering illusory solutions that deny reality."
"Know that when one group is singled out as a scapegoat for society's ills, one day your own might be next," he said.
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Family of US Activist Killed by IDF Pushes Biden to Order 'Independent Investigation'
"We welcome the White House's statement of condolences, but given the circumstances of Aysenur's killing, an Israeli investigation is not adequate," said the family of Aysenur Eygi.
Sep 09, 2024
The family of the U.S. citizen killed by Israeli forces in the illegally occupied West Bank last week issued a statement over the weekend demanding that the Biden administration order an "independent investigation," arguing a probe by Israel's military would not be enough to establish the facts and pursue justice.
The statement from Aysenur Eygi's family was posted to Instagram on Saturday by a friend of Eygi, a 26-year-old Turkish American citizen who was volunteering for the pro-Palestinian International Solidarity Movement in the West Bank. According to eyewitnesses, Israeli soldiers shot Eygi in the head during a protest against the expansion of unlawful Israeli settlements near the West Bank city of Nablus.
"Like the olive tree she lay beneath where she took her last breaths, Aysenur was strong, beautiful, and nourishing. Her presence in our lives was taken needlessly, unlawfully, and violently by the Israeli military," the family's statement reads. "A U.S. citizen, Aysenur was peacefully standing for justice when she was killed by a bullet that video shows came from an Israeli military shooter."
"We welcome the White House's statement of condolences, but given the circumstances of Aysenur's killing, an Israeli investigation is not adequate," the statement continued. "We call on President [Joe] Biden, Vice President [Kamala] Harris, and Secretary of State [Antony] Blinken to order an independent investigation into the unlawful killing of a U.S. citizen and to ensure full accountability for the guilty parties."
A spokesperson for the White House National Security Council said in the wake of Eygi's killing, which sparked global outrage, that "we are deeply disturbed by the tragic death of an American citizen" and "have reached out to the government of Israel to ask for more information and request an investigation into the incident." The U.S. is Israel's chief diplomatic ally and arms supplier.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF), for its part, claimed that soldiers "responded with fire" in the direction of "a main instigator of violent activity who hurled rocks at the forces and posed a threat to them." The IDF said it is "looking into reports that a foreign national was killed as a result of shots fired in the area."
But one eyewitness who was present when Eygi was killed told reporters that "it was quiet" when the deadly shot was fired, contradicting the IDF's account.
"There was nothing to justify the shot," said Israeli activist Jonathan Pollak. "The shot was taken to kill."
Longtime Israeli activist Jonathan Pollack describes the “intentional killing” of American Aysenur Eygi in the West Bank:
“It was quiet. There was nothing to justify the shot. The shot was taken to kill.” pic.twitter.com/2eTOYDEqpI
— Ryan Grim (@ryangrim) September 6, 2024
Ghassan Daghlas, the governor of Nablus, toldCNN on Saturday that an autopsy conducted at a nearby university "confirmed that Eygi was killed by an Israeli occupation sniper's bullet to her head."
Eygi was at least the third U.S. citizen killed by the IDF in the West Bank since the Israeli military launched its assault on the Gaza Strip following a deadly Hamas-led attack on October 7. The IDF is notorious for refusing to hold its soldiers accountable for massacring civilians, mostly Palestinians.
U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said in a statement Friday that "to date, the U.S. has not received satisfactory responses from the Netanyahu government about the two other Americans killed in the West Bank since October 7th, and the Biden administration has not been doing enough to pursue justice and accountability on their behalf."
Van Hollen said he has "repeatedly raised these concerns" with top administration officials, including Blinken.
"The Biden administration must do more to hold the Netanyahu government accountable and use American influence to demand the prosecution of those responsible for harm against American citizens," the senator said Friday. "If the Netanyahu government will not pursue justice for Americans, the U.S. Department of Justice must."
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