Spot Greenwashers

Here are 6 quick tips for spotting the greenwashers in the ‘natural’ personal care product industry…

1. Beware of misleading brand names – Just because the brand name is ‘So-and-so Naturals’ or ‘XYZ Organics’ doesn’t mean the product as a whole can be classified as natural or organic.  More often, this just means they use some natural or organic ingredients – along with all their synthetic chemicals.
2. Ignore the marketing images –  Just because a catalog has lots of plant pictures in it does not mean that the products are natural or organic.
3. Caution on the marketing claims – Marketing words on the front of a box or bottle – such as natural, safe, pure, gentle, beneficial, non-toxic, organic, and even certified organic – can have varying standards for ingredients and these days demand a closer look at the full ingredient list on the back of the packaging.
4. Demand full ingredient disclosure – Just because the ‘key ingredients’ list contains natural ingredients, or the product says, ‘made with’ natural ingredients, doesn’t mean the rest of the ingredient list doesn’t contain potentially harmful chemicals.  If a company does not readily disclose or answer your questions on the complete ingredient list, a big red flag should start waving in your mind.
5. Verify the third party verification standards – Case in point, ‘certified organic’ products.  Certified by what organization?  And what are the certification standards?  There are many different standards out there now vying to become ‘THE’ organic standard for personal care and cosmetic products.  Few if any meet the standards which most consumers have come to think of when they think ‘organic’ – that is 95% minimum organic content, the other 5% natural, no chemical preservatives, etc.  These are the food grade standards and they can be applied to personal care products as well.  Compare products meeting the food-grade organic standards with other ‘organic’ standards that require as little as 10% organic content and often allow ingredients or processing methods that would never be allowed in organic food.
6. Take the Toxic Test – Become familiar with the more concerning ingredients often still found in ‘natural’ or ‘organic’ products and start scanning the backs of boxes and bottles as a regular habit before you buy.  You can find lists of ingredients to avoid from groups such as the Environmental Working Group or the Breast Cancer Fund.  If you wish, you can also get a  free downloadable “Toxic Test” resource list of 50+ ingredients to avoid – all compiled in one document.

The bottom line is, you must have a clear sense of what you are looking for and then do some careful digging to find out if a given product matches what you want.  When in doubt, feel free to ask!  People regularly send me messages via my Facebook page asking me to look over ingredient lists for them, and I’m happy to help whenever I can.