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Natural Means "Nothing" – What Does Everything Else Mean?

natural-labels.jpg

As I wrote about back in January, the word, “Natural” essentially means “nothing”, as far as the FDA is concerned.

The FDA (has) declined to issue a regulation that would define use of the word “natural” on food and household product packaging in the near future, stating: we’re not sure how high an issue it is for consumers.

Well actually, according to a Yankelovich study commissioned by Burt’s Bee’s, 78% of consumers believed that “natural” claims ARE regulated. So, of course they are not concerned…the government’s on the case, right?

Nope.

“… a company might make a product that really is natural, and label it as such,” says Daniel Fabricant, VP/scientific and regulatory affairs at the Natural Products Association, Washington, D.C., “or it could be made of nine synthetic ingredients, with just a little plant extract thrown in.”

The natural products industry is no longer one comprised of small, entrepreneurial hippies carefully blending organic ingredients in their bathtubs. Many if not most of your favorite organic brands are now owned by large corporations. which adds new importance to defining the word “natural” – not for consumers, but for highly competitive consumer products companies who own natural brands – like Clorox, (Burt’s Bees) ; like Johnson & Johnson (Aveeno) ; like Estee Lauder (Aveda) – all powerful marketing machines.

Now that the big boys (and girls) own natural brands, the pressure is on to define natural. It’s a big selling point and an important part of these companies’ marketing strategies.

Unfortunately, not content to wait on the FDA, some of these big players have set their own standards and created their own “seals of approval.”

Whole Foods is launching a Premium Body Care seal of approval: Milder preservatives, and no parabens or formaldehyde-releasing preservatives — Gentler surfactants, including decyl polyglucose and sodium stearoyl lactylate — All natural fragrances, with no synthetics — Physical, not chemical, sunscreens, such as zinc oxide or titanium dioxide

SC Johnson’s Greenlist: a patented process that formalizes the classification of raw materials used in our products according to their impact on the environment and human health.

Clorox’s Burt’s Bill : A set of standards they believe natural products should have.

Green activist groups also are trying to help consumers understand what exactly they are buying when they purchase a natural brand: Buy Green has their “Buy Green Standards”. The Environmental Working Group has their Skin Deep cosmetics database .

What does this all add up to? More confusion for the consumer.

What we need is a functioning FDA that defines use of the word “Natural”. In the meantime, stick with the non-profits listed above and Consumer Reports, Greener Choices report before purchasing any brand touting itself as “natural.”

Related Posts: Natural Means Nothing; Clorox Benefits From FDA’s Decision on Natural; Is Windex Greener With Greenlist?;Who Owns Your Favorite Organic brand?

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Comments

  1. Jennifer says

    March 20, 2008 at 10:51 pm

    Labels can be worthless and deceptive. And with the new and changing names of ingredients, you really have to dig to stay on top of what is in your products. This is especially important since there are no laws or regulations regarding the things we put on our skin (hopefully this will be changing in the future).

    One way to check your products is to look for it here: http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/index.php?nothanks=1

    And when it comes to what we put IN our body, and especially if you buy organic, this is very important to check out: http://cornucopia.org/index.php/who-owns-organic/
    http://www.foodnews.org/

    Here is another one of my favorites: http://www.ewg.org/

    All we can do is read labels and dig, dig, dig for honest info!

    Reply
  2. joe says

    April 11, 2008 at 5:53 am

    hi I like this website

    Reply
  3. joe says

    April 11, 2008 at 6:00 am

    This its very helpful. It help children to understand what eco mean. I would like it if you made another web site for childeren to look at and to try and understand what eco means.

    Labels can be worthless and deceptive. And with the new and changing names of ingredients, you really have to dig to stay on top of what is in your products. This is especially important since there are no laws or regulations regarding the things we put on our skin (hopefully this will be changing in the future).

    The future is in are hands to people who like eco so people are mad about it and so people dont care about the eco things.People should look after the eco things because maybe in the future they will be no eco things and people will be very upset because they could of had this but they blow it away like a flower peatal

    Reply
  4. John says

    February 5, 2010 at 9:53 am

    Franken foods…love the imagery there. To some it is substance….to others they recognize it as useful when factual comparisons don’t work as well.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Half of All Americans Wouldn’t Buy FrankenFoods…If They Could Tell The Difference : Ecopreneurist says:
    May 23, 2008 at 11:52 am

    […] Natural Means “Nothing” – What Does Everything Else Mean? […]

    Reply
  2. Is Windex Greener With Greenlist? says:
    March 24, 2010 at 6:38 pm

    […] Benefits From FDA’s Decision on “Natural”; Who Owns Your Favorite Organic Brand?Natural Means Nothing – What Does Everything Else Mean? Share and […]

    Reply

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About Eco Child’s Play

Our ethos is to provide news, information, and opinions on natural, green parenting to help your family live a greener, healthier life! Additionally, we offer personal consulting services to help you achieve your green living goals.

Jennifer is a vegetarian, yoga teacher, gardener, hiker, teacher, and mother that has been living off-the-grid for over 20 years.

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