Comments on: What Does “Natural” Mean?

By: Forever Living

Forever Living — Sat, 21 Jul 2012 10:38:59 +0000

Forever Living Products has come up with a great number of natural wellness and beauty products produced by their own firm. They have established their regional offices more than 150 countries around the word and over 9.5 million people are experiencing the benefits of Forever Living’s natural products.

By: vintage fishing lures

vintage fishing lures — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 12:19:38 +0000

Nice and interesting post you got here. I agree with this. Everything nowadays isn’t natural. I think everything around us including food should be all organic and natural.

By: Diane MacEachern

Diane MacEachern — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 16:55:58 +0000

Actually, right now the word “natural” is more misleading, since there is no official definition. At least, organic is defined by the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture. That said, it is confusing to see non-food items labeled organic. But anything produced from plants can be made from organic materials (e.g., organic cotton, organic hemp, organically produced wood). can be labeled organic if it is grown according to USDA standards.

By: alje

alje — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 13:55:16 +0000

All natural or organic??? I feel organic can be extremely misleading. It;s appalling what is considered to be organic these day.

By: Diane MacEachern

Diane MacEachern — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 10:12:29 +0000

Beth,
I’ve read the standards they have on their website but haven’t had a chance to compare them to the organic standards. I was hoping the Obama stimulus plan would include subsidies to small farmers so they could get certified organic; that hasn’t happened yet, but I think it’s worth pressing for. Maybe the Organic Consumers Association has done the analysis – or better yet, Consumer Reports.

By: Beth Terry @ Fake Plastic Fish

Beth Terry @ Fake Plastic Fish — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 09:30:11 +0000

Hi Diane. Just finished reading Heather Rogers’s new book Green Gone Wrong, and in it she advocates the new “Certified Naturally Grown” certification which was formed in response to what small organic farmers saw as the inadequacy of the USDA organic standards. The fee is also much lower, so small farmers can afford to pay it.
Do you know anything about this standard? I thought of this post since you talk about the word “natural.”

By: Diane MacEachern

Diane MacEachern — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 11:59:47 +0000

Thank you!

By: Kristen

Kristen — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 11:30:57 +0000

This is probably the best example I have seen on the net regarding a natural explanation to this process. It is the most confusing subject out there and people are just not informed. That you for publishing this.

By: Shawna Coronado

Shawna Coronado — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 19:04:14 +0000

Thanks Diane for the informative post.
Best yet!

By: Carolyn Parrs

Carolyn Parrs — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 19:38:14 +0000

I am with you Diane. 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 (sorry to point my finger), the largest organic milk brand in America, 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 Parrs
http://www.womenofgreen.com
http://www.greenmarketingblog.com
http://www.mindovermarkets.com