• Can I use some organic ingredients and call it Certified Organic?

No. The product must contain 95% Certified Organic ingredients to carry the USDA seal.

• I have an SPF lip balm that is all organic except for sunscreens.
  Can I call it Organic?

No. The USDA National Organic Program (NOP) does not currently allow sunscreens in Organic products, even if they are 95% organic. The NOP has a list of allowable non-organic ingredients, which must be followed in order to make the Organic claim.

• But my favorite SPF lip balm says it is Organic. And it is from
  a well-known, reputable company.

If a product label makes both SPF and Certified Organic claims, then the label misrepresents the product to the consumer, and violates Federal standards. It may very well contain organic materials, but it cannot call itself an Organic product and bear the USDA Organic seal.

•What if my product is mostly organic, but not quite 95%?

If your product is a minimum of 70% organic, and the other 30% complies with the NOP, then you may use the claim "Made With Organic".

• My manufacturer says they can make my products with organic
  ingredients. Is this ok?

Sure, you and your manufacturer can use whatever raw materials you wish. But to claim the product is Organic and use the USDA logo, you must use a USDA Certified facility.

• Why is it important to use the USDA Organic seal? I would never
  make false label claims. And I really trust my suppliers.

Trust is good; trust and verification is better. The USDA seal tells your customers that there is a whole team of people outside of your company ensuring that the product is truly organic. It's like having a testimony on every single item you put out to the marketplace!

• How is this so?

Consider a Certified Organic lip balm. The customer knows it is Organic because it has the USDA logo on the label. The company selling the lip balm is able to use this Organic seal because the facility where it is made is USDA third-party Certified. The factory knows it is organic because it purchases raw materials from Certified Organic suppliers. The suppliers know their materials are Organic because they purchase from Certified growers. The growers' land and crops are USDA Certified Organic, and they buy seed only from Certified Organic seed suppliers. If you consider that there may be a dozen or more raw materials in one lip balm, then that one USDA seal could very likely represent fifty or sixty individual third-party organic compliance audits, from the soil to the shelf!

• But isn't the Organic certification just really a bunch of red tape
  and paperwork?

Not at all! To be certified requires a thorough commitment to the NOP, the willingness to train personnel, and the development of an stringent system of procedures and processes that ensure that the product that goes out the door is truly Organic, along with the willingness to bear the regular scrutiny of outside, Federally licensed auditors.