# FTC crackdown on 'natural' labels



## paillo (Apr 12, 2016)

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ftc-cracks-down-on-products-that-claim-to-be-natural-2016-04-12

I hope this spreads far and wide!!!!!


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## cmzaha (Apr 12, 2016)

About Time


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## shunt2011 (Apr 12, 2016)

It is about time. Maybe some changes will take place.


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## amd (Apr 12, 2016)

Is it bad that I'm sad that Perfectly Posh is not one of the five?


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## DeeAnna (Apr 12, 2016)

"...products that claim to be all natural should have “no artificial ingredients or chemicals.”..." (from the article)

So now we get to fight over yet another word -- what does "artificial" mean? I can't answer that any better than I can answer what "natural" means. :think: Not that I'm sad the FTC is cracking down -- the word "natural" plastered over everything is getting to be ridiculous.

Thanks for sharing, Paillo!


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## snappyllama (Apr 13, 2016)

This is such a good thing for consumers. 

I was a little annoyed to read in the article: "phenoxyethanol, a preservative that is also commonly found in cleaning products." As though preservatives are a bad thing or something found in a cleaning product would be problematic for that reason alone. The article might as well have vilified "dihydrogen monoxide" as being commonly used in nuclear reactors. Grr. If it is a bad thing - say why! Indicate a study or that it falls under some man-made chemical rule or some such. /end rant

It somewhat begs the question: since no effective preservatives are "natural", would no company be able to market a natural lotion? It seems impossible for companies to know which ingredients fall under the artificial/chemical bucket. Hopefully, the FTC will publish actual guidelines. Even though I don't sell, I'd be interested to see what what makes the cut and why.


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## galaxyMLP (Apr 13, 2016)

Snappy, I felt the same way about phenoxyethanol.

I do think there is a "natural" preservative that's being used now and is effective. I'm also betting that larger companies have had their products challenge tested although it's possible they don't! 

They are using honeysuckle extract. Honeysuckle extract is actually a mix of parabens but is derived from honeysuckle. Thus, I think this is where most companies are going when they want a "natural" effective preservative. There's nothing really natural about it though.


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## snappyllama (Apr 13, 2016)

galaxyMLP said:


> Snappy, I felt the same way about phenoxyethanol.
> 
> I do think there is a "natural" preservative that's being used now and is effective. I'm also betting that larger companies have had their products challenge tested although it's possible they don't!
> 
> They are using honeysuckle extract. Honeysuckle extract is actually a mix of parabens but is derived from honeysuckle. Thus, I think this is where most companies are going when they want a "natural" effective preservative. There's nothing really natural about it though.



Interesting. I wouldn't think that Plantservative (the brand name of the honeysuckle extract) would qualify under a natural label either. It seems there is contradictory information about how refined it is... basically the parabens are pulled out of honeysuckle extract and extremely concentrated to make the product. I just pulled that out of a few minutes of web searching though... so I'm no expert!

It seems like Optiphen Plus would be more fitting with a natural product line since it is paraben free and not a formaldehyde donor but  Phenoxyethanol (and) Caprylyl Glycol (and) Sorbic Acid sounds scary I guess...

Just goes to show that greenwashing of labels doesn't really tell consumers anything...


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## TeresaT (Apr 13, 2016)

snappyllama said:


> This is such a good thing for consumers.
> 
> I was a little annoyed to read in the article: "phenoxyethanol, a preservative that is also commonly found in cleaning products." As though preservatives are a bad thing or something found in a cleaning product would be problematic for that reason alone. The article might as well have vilified *"dihydrogen monoxide" as being commonly used in nuclear reactors.* Grr. If it is a bad thing - say why! Indicate a study or that it falls under some man-made chemical rule or some such. /end rant
> 
> It somewhat begs the question: since no effective preservatives are "natural", would no company be able to market a natural lotion? It seems impossible for companies to know which ingredients fall under the artificial/chemical bucket. *Hopefully, the FTC will publish actual guidelines.* Even though I don't sell, I'd be interested to see what what makes the cut and why.



Well thank heavens we don't use "dihydrogen monoxide" for anything and it's not in our bodies.  Gosh!  "Nucular" reactors.  <<shudders>>

HA!  That "publish actual guidelines" made me laugh almost as loud as "dihydrogen monoxide" did.  Sweetie, do not wait for the government to do any such thing.  And if they did, it would be 10 years out of date,  detrimental to everyone that had any kind of interest in it and incomprehensible anyway.  Remember the healthcare act that had to be passed for anyone to know what it contained... 

Trust me.  I work for the government.


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## Soapsense (Apr 14, 2016)

check out the ingredient list  http://www.naplessoap.com/product-p/95.htm


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## lenarenee (Apr 14, 2016)

Soapsense said:


> check out the ingredient list http://www.naplessoap.com/product-p/95.htm


 
You're referring to  this: "2-phenoxyethanol (a natural preservative)" ?


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## Soapsense (Apr 16, 2016)

Yes, I was referring to the label stating it was natural.  This is a very large company in Florida.  They have a store in Key West where I browse often. 

Not, that I think this preservative is bad at all.  Everything I read about it, is that it is produced by a forced reaction in a laboratory. Which I guess means that it doesn't occur naturally even though the ingredients are natural.  I will never understand all the guidelines.


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## Susie (Apr 16, 2016)

And after the federal government gets through deciding what the guidelines are and publishing those, you are still not going to understand the guidelines.  It is going to be much more confusing and unevenly enforced, because no one is going to understand them, not even the committee that puts it together.


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