British spa brand Pinks Boutique is holding its second annual Organic Beauty Festival at a number of participating spas during September, to educate and inform visiting spa and salon representatives from around the country on how to shop for pesticide-free beauty products.

The festival is timed to coincide with Organic Beauty Week (8-14 September) – the national awareness campaign from leading organic certification body, the Soil Association.

High profile spas that have confirmed their involvement – offering treatments using certified organic products – include Eastthorpe Hall Spa in Huddersfield, Dart Marina in Dartmouth and The Potting Shed in Batley.

“As passionate ambassadors of organic beauty and a Soil Association-certified brand, we are intent on supporting spa managers, salon owners and therapists to educate and inform people about the unique benefits of organic beauty,” said Pinks Boutique’s founder Kirstie Sherriff in a statement.

“Unfortunately, there can be a world of difference between a beauty product that has been certified and one that is merely described as ‘organic’ on the label,” Sherriff continued. “Our products are manufactured and regularly audited to ensure they adhere to the Soil Association’s strict criteria so that both consumers and the spas and salons that retail and use them in treatments, can trust them and be confident of their authenticity.”

“There is no doubt that many products claiming to be organic or something similar are, quite simply, misleading consumers,” said Peter Melchett, policy director for the Soil Association. “Under Soil Association standards, to use the word organic in the product name, it must contain over 95 per cent organic ingredients, excluding water.”

“It is wrong that people are putting chemicals found in antifreeze, paint, oven cleaner and floor cleaner on their skin, when they thought they were buying a product made from only natural or organic ingredients,” Melchett added. “This must stop.”