A recent survey revealed that American consumers believe that a natural product is a better indicator of an eco-friendly product than “organic”.

This makes me shake my head and stomp my feet.  The truth is there are absolutely no regulations in place when it comes to using the word “natural”. You can have a mere 1% of your ingredients as “natural” and still say that your product is natural.  Sad but true.

As for organic food, there are strict government standards in place in order to place “certified organic” on your label. Unfortunately, when it comes to other product categories such as personal care products, the word “organic” is misused because HABA (Health and Beauty Aids) is a self regulated industry.  No wonder the American public is confused. And no wonder nearly two-thirds of the consumers in this study answered “don’t know/not sure” when asked, “How do you know a product is green?”

What’s worse is that some companies out there that are so called “committed” to organic food are capitalizing on consumer cluelessness. Horizon Dairy, the largest organic milk brand in America, just announced its intention to launch a line of natural (not organic) yogurts and milk products aimed at toddlers and their confused mommies. These products will be produced “conventionally” (code for: with pesticides and herbicides) but according to the company “without added growth hormones, artificial colors, flavors or preservatives and no high fructose corn syrup.”

So yeah, the product will be cheaper because you cannot find organic anything on factory farms. But Mom, don’t confuse this natural claim with the healthier, safer, more nutritious food you get with organics. Because it’s not.        

 – Carolyn

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Sorry Kermit, according to the Federal Trade Commission, it’s too easy being green.  And they’re going to do something about it (sound of foot stomping).  This week at a hearing entitled just that,  “It’s too easy being green,” the House subcommittee on commerce, trade and consumer protection presented a concise summary about environmentally – themed marketing claims and suggested that the rules get “significantly tougher” in coming years.

Well, it’s about time. Green has to mean something more than pretty little pictures of forests and flowers on the bottle of your shampoo.  When launching a truly organic (and biodynamic) personal care product for a client, I got to know some of the dirty little secrets of this unregulated field. Did you know that when you see claims like “70% organic” blazoned across the label of a certain shampoo by certain manufacturer, most of the “organic” they are talking about is the water in their product?  Is that misleading or what? Hair washing and greenwashing in one bottle. 

I am happy that new rules are being structured.  The Canadians did it a long time ago. And that’s good news for start-ups that tend to lean more green than the bigger guys.  If we want green to be more than a fad, consumers of all shades of green need to have confidence in the products and services they buy.  And when they do, watch your green brand turn into gold.    

– Carolyn    

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