It's What We Say No To That Makes Us Different

We've been doing this since 2004

We get it. You're a busy parent. You don't have the time to trawl google trying to work out which ingredients are safe. So since 2004, we've been doing the work for you. (And we're pretty damn good at it by now!)

Every single one of our products is researched and reviewed against our list of strict criteria to make sure it's non toxic before it goes on to our shelves.

We don't listen to the greenwash or the fake 'organic' and 'natural' claims. We talk to suppliers, we check the ingredients on the back of the pack for you, and we do the research, just like we've done since we opened all those years ago!

Our 'no thanks' ingredients list

We've got a list of thousands of ingredients that we say no to, and we're adding to it all the time. 

How do we do it?

We stock thousands of products here at Hello Charlie. And the most important thing to us is our integrity, so that you know that you can trust us. 

When we're deciding whether to stock something, we check the brand's integrity. It goes against our ethics to shop with companies that use slave labour, or test on animals, for example. 

We'll check whether the company has independent certifications, like eco certifications or organic certifications. It's not enough for a company to claim that they're awesome, they have to prove that they are. 

And finally, we check each and every product. Are the products certified organic? Are the ingredients certified organic? Are there any toxic ingredients? Some products in a brand might be great, others not so much. 

When we're checking on ingredients and brands, we use lots of different tools and scientific research to get to the bottom of the claims. 

We put a lot of this research into our famous Cheat Sheets, too, so you can compare loads of different Australian products at once. 

What do we look for?

✅ Non toxic

✅ Cruelty free

✅ BPA free, lead free, phthalate free and PVC free

✅ Dirty Thirty free

✅ Good preservatives

✅ Non toxic finishes

✅ Synthetic perfume free

✅ Truly natural and organic

Non toxic

It has to be non toxic, or we just won't stock it. 

Cruelty free

Not tested on animals, or even owned by a company that tests on animals. There are good products owned by multinationals that test on animals, but we won't stock them. 

Vegan - we have a large and growing range of vegan products, but not all of our products are vegan. Unfortunately, vegan doesn't mean non toxic. 

BPA free, etc

Many of our customers are little ones, so we make absolutely sure that none of the toxic nasties like any of the bisphenols, PVC, lead or phthalates are going into our littlest customer's bodies!

Dirty Thirty free

The Dirty Thirty is a term from the wonderful website Teens Turning Green. While there are many thousands of ingredients that you need to watch out for, these toxins are a great place to start! 

Good preservatives

Preservatives aren't all bad. You need them to stop products from growing bacteria and other nasties that can make you really sick. But some preservatives are better than others, and we make sure we're only stocking the good ones. 

Non toxic finishes

Because you don't want to buy your baby a chew toy only to find that the finishes contain toxic nasties that your baby is putting in his mouth!

Synthetic perfume free

Perfume might smell pretty, but it can be made from up to 3000 ingredients, some of them really toxic. And as so many people are super sensitive to synthetic perfumes, this one is a no brainer!

Truly natural and organic

Made from coconuts? Derived from plants? Sometimes an ingredient can be so far derived that it's no longer natural. The chemicals used in the processing can be toxic themselves, and contaminate the original natural ingredient.

We don't listen to those claims. We do our own research so that you don't have to!

Eco, Organic & Natural Certifications

There are lots of eco, organic and natural certifications around the world, and you'll see many of them on our products. 

The most common organic certifying bodies in Australia are:

• ACO – Australian Certified Organic (owned by BFA – Biological Farmers of Australia)
• NASAA – NASAA Certified Organic
• OFC – Organic Food Chain
• Demeter – Bio-Dynamic Research Institute (BDRI)

Some of the international organic standards are:

• COSMOS – Brussels/Europe
• NaTrue – Brussels/International
• Soil Association – United Kingdom
• BDIH Bundesverband Deutscher Industrie-und Handelsunternehmen – Germany
• Biocosc – Switzerland
• Cosmebio – France
• EcoCert – France
• ICEA Istituto per la Certificazione Etica e Ambientale – Italy
• USDA’s National Organic Program – USA
• OASIS Organic and Sustainable Industry Standards – USA
• QAI Quality Assurance International – USA
• Certech – Canada
• COR Canada Organic Regime – Canada
• NSF/ANSI 305: Personal Care – USA

And you'll also see independent eco certifications, like the Nordic Swan Eco Label, on our nappy brands Bambo Nature and Muumi. 

Questions?

Do get in touch with us if you've got any questions. We're here to help you make the journey to non toxic living, so give us a shout at info@hellocharlie.com.au.