Lousy Labels

The moral of todays blog is "Buyer Beware." This is probably not news to most of us. However, the TV program "Marketplace" recently did a show on the 10 worst labels. They were" bad" labels because they appeared deliberately misleading. One example is two shampoos, both by the same well known, large, manufacturer. If you read the ingredient list, you could see that they were, in fact, the very same product. However, one label said "Natural" and one did not. Of course, the "Natural" label was considerably more expensive. When asking the president of the Cosmetics and Toiletries Association how this company could get away with this, he said that there are, in fact, no regulations that govern when a label can tout the words "natural" or "organic."
When the companies were asked to elaborate on their ingredient list, they cited the formulas as "proprietary" and gave no disclosure.
The most offensive label was on Seventh Generation Organic Cotton Baby Diapers. They were more expensive than their regular diapers...but...would not disclose exactly how much of the cotton in the diapers was, in fact, organic. Get this - the diapers appeared to be a soft beige color, as if unbleached. Truth? The diapers were in fact bleached and then dyed to look more natural!! So, you think baby is getting this chemical free diaper...and are paying a premium for it...when in actuality, only the company knows for sure how much of the content is organic. Is bleaching and then re-dyeing a diaper to look unbleached misleading? You decide.
At eScential Wellness, there are no proprietary formulas. I will tell you exactly what is in every product. And, where listed as organic, I will, given a few days, be able to provide you with a certificate of examination by an independent third party, such as Oregon Tilth or USDA certified organic.
An educated, label reading consumer is my best customer.
Buyer, Beware!!