Originally 34 separate lawsuits were filed in June of this year on the back of the California Organic Production Act (COPA), which states that such products should contain a minimum of 70 per cent organic certified ingredients.
The settlements with the 11 of the 34 companies calls for the products that they market with organic claims to be in compliance with the California law by the end of March 2012.
The organization says that it is hoping to strike up similar agreements with the remaining 23 companies that it has filed lawsuits against, although it did also stress the fact that certain businesses have reacted negatively, saying they will resist the legal action.
Some Organic labeled products contain high levels of synthetic ingredients
The CEH claims that some of the products that are being marketed as organic on the labels contain synthetic ingredients that have been associated with medical conditions and other related health problems.
Three specific products highlighted as being non-compliant with COPA that are yet to commit include: Vogue International Organix hair care brand, Namsate Laboratories Organic Rooty Stimulator and Strength of Nature Global Elasta QP hair care brand, which also uses the term 'organic' on its label.
Contrary to the formulation labels, the Vogue International brand contains few or no organic ingredients, while the Namsate Laboratories and Natural Global Elasta products contain no organic ingredients at all.
Action calls for 70 per cent organic ingredients
The CEH says that its legal case, which was certified by the Almeda Superior Court, calls on the companies to either increase their use of organic ingredients to at least the agreed 70 per cent, or else to change the labelling on the product packaging.
Although the legal case is only legaly binding in the state of California, the CEH says that, bearing in mind California is one of the largest and most populace states in the US, it expects that the settlements will take effect nationwide.
“We expect all companies with improper organic labels to agree to these terms and comply with the law on the same timeline,” said Michael Green, executive director of CEH.