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Product claims rules and regulations.
Hi!
I am just wondering for those working within the EU, what are the rules regarding claims of “natural” in hair products. For example, I have noticed some companies claiming on the packaging that their product is 90% natural and yet on the website for the same product the claim is 96% natural. I understand the rules regarding the use of “organic” term, is there something similar for the use of the term natural? -
5 Replies
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If you are not working with one of the standards (ecocert, NaTrue etc.) you can pretty much make up your own rules for what is natural.
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the fact that “natural” is a very vague term with no legal definition is a real two-edged sword
while you can in principle make it up as you go along as @David says, the disadvantage of this is that such a vague claim will be impossible to prove if it’s challenged, particularly if you attach an actual number to it
a clearer and more provable statement would be “materials of natural origin comprise [PERCENTAGE]% of this product by weight”, which is probably what is meant in the examples you’ve cited
as the resident toxicologist and safety assessor at my last place used to say: don’t claim anything on the pack that you can’t defend in court!
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Best you be cautious, and honest … Take a look at your ingredients list and see if they are on the ECOCert list of acceptable ingredients. You can then either calculate the % of natural ingredients (by weight) in your product or you can put an asterisk next to the ingredients in you ingredients list and below it put
* Natural IngredientsBill_Toge gives you good advice. Arm & Hammer called their stick deodorant “Natural” even though it contained Tricolsan and other synthetic ingredients. In New Jersey, the got hit with a class action lawsuit for misleading advertising and they lost. So, even though “Natural” has no legal meaning … use it judiciously. -
If you’re curious here is a link to the lawsuit.
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Hey thank you guys…
I have always been perplexed by the way this term is being used. I have also noticed how consumers jump on the natural bandwagon without much contemplation or thought. I have more clarity now and hope to use the term more responsibly.Thank you guys as always!
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