Monday, August 5, 2013

Is it Natural?

(Originally posted on www.wunderbudder.com on 05/25/12)

It's time for my rant.

It's actually long overdue.

How many times have you seen a company or product making the "natural" claim, only to read the ingredients and have it be filled with 400 different types of alcohol, 300 petrochemicals, 200 preservatives, 100 words you can't figure out, and one natural, botanical ingredient? Ok, maybe that's an exaggeration, but I think you know what I mean.

There are basically NO rules for labelling something "natural", "botanical", or any other word you can think of that makes the product seem like something it's not. "Organic" has rules, but even labelling something "organic" means that it's 95% organic. What about the other 5%?? Exactly.
It makes me SO MAD, I can't even fully put words to it without sounding like a child having a temper tantrum. It's unfair to companies like Wunder Budder who aren't making false claims, but most importantly, unfair to consumers. Unfair to YOU. If you're not in the industry, how are you supposed to know what can and can't be called what? How are you supposed to know that anyone can call anything "natural" just because they feel like it? I'm telling you now, and I hope you spread the word.

READ THE LABELS! Alway, always, always, read the ingredient list on products you're buying. I can't stress this enough. You don't even have to know what all the ingredients are exactly. If it seems like it's not natural, it's not. Trust your instincts.

Can I just say it one more time?

There are NO rules for labelling something natural (at least not in the USA), so you MUST read the ingredient list!

This is the reason why we list Every. Single. Ingredient on all of our product labels and their descriptions online, and why we don't use anything like "flavor" or "fragrance". (Update 08/15/13: Well, we started adding some items that are fragrances in a more perfume-style. A few items have "natural fragrance" listed, but each one is blended in the studio using the same ingredients we use for all our other products. There are still no "fragrance" or "flavor" oils, don't worry! We didn't change our core beliefs that natural is the only way to go, we just wanted to expand our horizons.) If it's in it, we list it, so you always know exactly what you are using when you use Wunder Budder. If you have a question about any ingredients we use, check out our new Glossary of Good Stuff. If what you're looking for hasn't been added yet, or if you have more questions, please contact us.

End rant (for now).

XoXo,
Lisa

Read more about Commonly Misused Natural Industry Terms.

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