Tis’ Organic Month of September!
Did You Know?
Until I started working with Organic Products back in 2011, I had never really noticed the annual “awareness” month celebrating “organic”. Organic September is a month-long annual campaign running from September 1st - 30th, organised primarily by the Soil Association (the UK certifier of organic products), the event promotes organic food & farming, beauty & wellbeing & in more recent years textiles too, highlighting benefits like soil health, animal welfare, and reduced pesticide use.
Key Goals of the Campaign are to Protect Nature: Encourage farming methods that respect wildlife and support biodiversity. Build Healthy Soils: Avoid artificial pesticides and chemical fertilisers to grow more nutritious food. Raise Awareness: Inform consumers on how choosing certified organic items supports sustainable local and global food systems.
How People Take Part? Shop Smart: Choose certified organic goods and look for trusted labels in supermarkets and local farm shops. Educate and Share: Learn more about sustainable agriculture and share tips on healthy, eco-friendly living. Support Producers: Buy directly from local organic growers and businesses that use sustainable ingredients.
When the doors opened…
When Neal’s Yard Remedies opened their doors in 1981, they joined a group of forward-thinking businesses based in a quiet corner of London’s Covent Garden called Neal’s Yard. They all shared a similar vision, pioneering values of sustainability, natural ingredients, eco-friendly packaging, value, equality, community and upcycling. The beliefs etched into the brand’s ethos, adopted by many others over the years. So, with the Month of Organic September & since I have personally been working with & selling their products for 15 years+, I thought it might be nice to look back at their organic evolution from the 1980s to the present day, celebrating the milestones.
Under the wing of their founder Romy Fraser, they were called Neal’s Yard Apothecary and initially only sold natural remedies. Soon after, they started creating their natural cosmetics, made at the back of the Covent Garden store, hand-crafted using organically produced herbal extracts and housed in their iconic blue glass bottles to protect the integrity of the ingredients inside.
The 1st Certified Organic Product….
From the early days, Romy had started sowing seeds of the organic evolution, starting with essential oils. In the mid-80s, Romy and Susan Curtis, former Natural Health Director, went from farm to farm in the South of France to source and trial a small quantity of organic lavender essential oil. Only one farmer, Ulli, said yes, a relationship which continues to this day; sourcing organic lavender essential oil.
In 1987 Neal’s Yard Remedies were the first UK retailer to sell certified organic Lavender Essential Oil – their very first certified organic product – and it remains a customer favourite today. Have you tried it? (There is the Organic English Lavender today too)
The organic story grew in the 1990s when Neal’s Yard Remedies began to work with the Soil Association (SA), a British charity founded in 1946, leading nature-positive farming initiatives and developing world-leading organic standards to help build a better, more sustainable future. The SA’s organic certification – easily spotted by its logo on product labels – gives customers a trusted way of knowing an item has been made using eco-friendly farming techniques and packaging to protect the planet and all its inhabitants without using controversial chemicals.
At the time, certified organic skincare was niche and low in demand, and the SA were still only accrediting food. But Neal’s Yard Remedies wanted people to have the same assurance for the skincare they used as they did in food, so, in 1991, they became Britain’s first health and beauty brand to use certified organic ingredients. It marked the start of their organic journey as an accredited retailer and paved the way for organic beauty throughout the industry.
Still today; Simply The Best.
In 1993, Neal’s Yard Remedies began growing organic herbs, which they crafted into botanical extracts for products. In the mid-90s, they launched a range of certified organic teabags. While certifying products like moisturisers were still off the table at that point, a range of massage oils and balms qualified for accreditation towards the end of the decade. In 1998, the long-loved tired muscle saviour, Arnica Salve was certified!
The millennium brought a decade of organic firsts at Neal’s Yard Remedies. In 2002, they collaborated with the SA to release the first standards for certified organic beauty and launched the UK’s first four certified organic skincare products. In 2003, the long-loved revitalising Honey & Orange Facial Scrub became certified organic, still a top-selling (face) exfoliator today. In 2004 they launched their award-winning, certified organic Wild Rose Beauty Balm, using sustainably and ethically sourced rosehip seed and hemp oils, shea butter and a balancing blend of essential oils.
They’re always working on ways to be at the cutting edge of organic health and beauty while supporting nature-positive initiatives and continue collaborating with the Soil Association to review and expand their list of approved ingredients for certified organic health and beauty formulations. It’s why still today I choose to share, sample & encourage everyone to discover & try organic skincare, wellbeing & home fragrance products of Neal’s Yard Remedies.
Make A Swap…
If everyone just made one swap to a certified organic equivalent product in September, that would be millions of synthetic ingredient/fragrant oil based products not purchased. Helping wildlife, our planet, as well as our skin/the air we breathe.
Whether it’s a hand wash, shower gel, shampoo, face product, home fragrance & don’t forget out & about I also have with me a selection of household cleaning products - certified organic - from Greenscents (Made in Somerset)
One Small Swap x Many People = A Big Difference
Where You’ll Find Me In September
Encouraging You to Take Part In Organic September, You’ll find me Sampling seasonal essentials, new products & available for chat, as well as an opportunity to purchase for yourself or a gift for a friend (the Friends With Nature way)
September’s Product Heroes. Saving 15%
Balancing Room Spray + Peppermint Essential Oil