If things look a little greener around here this April, there's a good reason. Our editorial staff is busy expanding the ideals of Earth Day into a month-long celebration of energy conservation, alternative transportation, recycling tips and about a million ways you can be a better friend to the planet. Welcome to Green Month, Milwaukee.

Yesterday, the family-owned Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps filed a lawsuit in California Superior Court against multiple personal care brands to force them to stop labeling themselves “organic" when some of the ingredients are not organic.

Dr. Bronner's and the Organic Consumers Association (OCA) -- an organization that works to educate consumers about deceptive organic brands -- warned the companies in question that they would attempt to legal action unless they dropped their organic label or stopped using main ingredients made from conventional agricultural and / or petrochemical material without any certified organic material.

In a press release, David Bronner, president of Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps says, "We have been deeply disappointed and frustrated by companies in the 'natural' personal care space who have been screwing over organic consumers, engaging in misleading organic branding and label call-outs, on products that were not natural in the first place, let alone organic."

Some of the brands Dr. Bronner’s and the OCA filed suits against are Jason, Kiss My Face, Estee Lauder, Stella McCartney's CARE, Ecocert, OASIS, Nature’s Gate, Avalon and more.

The vice president of the company, Ralph Bronner, lives in Menomonee Falls.