Is the certification process self-serving?
However, when it came to the panel discussion, Horst Rechelbacher, founder of Aveda and Intelligent Nutrients, and chair for the conference’s first session on Sustainability, chose to challenge the panel on the fact that they were contributing to the fragmentation of the certification process and consumer confusion. The panel discussion became heated, with Rechelbacher accusing the panel representatives of being self-serving and panel members defending themselves by explaining that the development of the market in the US had made private certification necessary. The following day Rechelbacher apologized for his comments made during the panel discussion, but still stressed that he wanted to see greater regulatory harmonization. This week, the conference organizers, Beyond Beauty Paris and Organic Monitor, confirmed that over 250 delegates, comprising 15 nationalities had attended the conference. A delegate survey conducted at the conference also confirmed that 98 percent of the attendee
