The great British public are following the example of their European cousins and increasingly performing ablutions with naturally manufactured products. Market research from Datamonitor forecasts that the UK for organic personal care products will increase from £9 million in 2007 to £12 million by 2011.

Traditionally a niche category, this organic personal care trend is part of a larger movement in the UK towards organic and more natural ingredients generally in personal care products. Across Britain nearly a third of consumers sought cosmetic and toiletry products with natural credentials more frequently over the period 2005-06. Natural personal care still accounts for a small proportion of the total personal care market but consumption is gaining considerable momentum in the UK. Demand has continued to outperform that for non-natural products as the segment becomes mainstream.

The UK is behind the continent in choosing organic soap and shampoo. Research published in autumn 2006 by Organic Monitor on natural cosmetics found the German and Italian markets to be the largest in Europe comprising almost 70% of revenues. Natural cosmetics are highly established in Germany where they comprise over 4% of total cosmetic sales; the market share is forecast to approach 10% by 2012. Natural cosmetics also have high market share with the environmentally aware Austrian and Swiss populations.

Overall there is a steady move to the natural. To total spend on natural personal care , including narrow, broad and organic definitions, currently stands at almost US$14 billion in the US and Europe and by 2011 is set to reach over US$20 billion.