The buzzword last year was “spa” with everybody from L’Oreal to Woolworths touting their own spa range and pretty soon the word became devalued. The origins of the word are from the Latin Sana Per Aqua literally health through water and the Romans were avid users of spas and brought them to England. Bath was a superb example of Roman spa building. The ultimate degradation of the word came in the form of current billboard posters from a major detergent manufacturer offering a shower gel that gave a “spa experience”. Having myself had a fabulous spa experience in the Maldives that included reflexology, massage and sensory delights for the eyes, nose and ears, it seemed unlikely that a £1.20 bottle of body wash was going to replicate all those sensations and so the centuries of use of the word “spa” have now been trashed down to the level of a bottle synthetic jollop touted on a billboard.
So what is the next word to lose all value and integrity? Sorry to say that this year’s buzzword seems to be “natural” so be prepared to have your products challenged in the coming months. So just what IS natural?
It is clear that many consumers want nature based ingredients. The natural fragrance of essential oils characterizes many personal care brands and is rightly valued by consumers. The public attach great importance to the verifiable natural effect of plants like aloe vera, calendula or roses which have been proven in use for centuries. Unfortunately, the advertisers would have us believe that these effects work just as well in a washing powder as well as a vacuum cleaner fragrance insert.
Most people would agree that essential oil of Roman Chamomile is natural – but think again. It does not exist in Nature in that form. The anti inflammatory agent azulene does not exist in the plant until the plant has been processed and steam distilled. So is the oil natural? Some people have difficulties with the idea of processing per se. Comparing a single farmer in Grasse who grows lavender and harvests it himself, then distills it to a large company who harvest lavender on a huge scale and distill it as well. Truly, where is the difference? The single farmer will not be reaping the flowers heads with a scythe, he will be using a tractor or harvester which is petrol driven. Perhaps it is the image that has more to do with it. I do not claim to have the answers here but just wish to play Devil’s advocate to give you things to think about. For me, it is the ethos of the person or the company that is more important but possibly that is vulnerable to marketing hype as well.
It could also be argued that all chemicals are “natural”, because even synthetics are produced from raw materials that ultimately are derived from the wholesome goodness of Mother Earth herself. It cannot be said that just because something is natural that it is good for you. Botulinum bacteria exists naturally in the soil but when in the body gives a horrible way to die.
Some people refer to Cocamidopropyl Betaine detergent as “naturally derived”, meaning derived from natural sources, in this case, from Coconut Oil. Cocamidopropyl Betaine may be derived from coconut oil, but “derived from coconut oil” does not give me enough of a clue to know whether they spun it in a centrifuge or if it has been reacted 5 times with unpronounceable chemicals.
So, if a raw material is derived from natural gas, is that raw material “naturally derived” also? As a friend of mine says, “there is nothing more natural than a dead dinosaur”. Hmm, that makes for uncomfortable thoughts.
For many consumers, the concept of “natural” here may simply be that it’s the perceived value of something being freshly picked or as minimally handled afterwards as possible. For many, that perception is primarily fuelled by whether or not the ingredient name is pronounceable, which is then perceived as a mark of goodness seal. For that very reason, many small formulators have added information to their INCI declarations on the product labels. Oryza Sativa may sound a bit “chemically” to the customer but putting “rice bran oil” in brackets afterwards helps them to understand the ingredient and also “naturalises” it.
Perhaps the issue of discussing “natural” would be vastly facilitated if we used the word “sustainable” instead. Should sustainability should be the goal – we are gobbling up resources as fast as possible. Is it time to figure how we can make functional, effective products that will not destroy our children’s (and grandchildren’s) World along with their health?
“Sustainable” has a more-clear meaning and application, but may not push enough feel good buttons to be commercially successful. Also, if you are pushing your marketing as sustainable whilst all others are trumpeting natural, consumers devalue your product. After all, they argue, if you product was natural like the others, you would say so, wouldn’t you?
So just how fast is this natural gravy train moving? If you weren’t convinced that the natural is the new black, L’Oreal, the World’s largest beauty company has recently acquired Anita Roddicks Body Shop which has about 190 shops in 50 countries, primarily in the UK and had sales of $735 million in the year 2005. The purchase cost L’Oreal $1.1 billion and has given them a powerful position in the fast growing natural products segment, which is interesting because Body Shop was certainly far from natural in its marketing, choosing to extol fair trade issues instead.
Colgate-Palmolive have agreed to purchase Tom’s of Maine for about $10 million. Founded in 1970, Tom’s is the leading player in the US natural personal care market which is currently growing at 15% a year.
Crabtree & Evelyn launched Naturals, a line of 35 body care products. The packaging is very stylish and the products feature unexpected fragrance blends such as mint and black tea, mango and grapefruit. The range is basically based around body butters, polishers and moisturisers so expect to see a flurry of advertising in the coming months.
In Japan, cosmetics giant Shiseido have announced that they have conducted experiments that suggest the natural sweetener Stevia from Amazonian trees can promote the growth of eyelashes. The manufacturer cultured cells found at the root of the eyelash in the presence of Steviosides which are the compounds that give Stevia its sweet taste. The Steviosides caused the MSX2 gene in these cells to be expressed at triple the normal level. Because this gene is known to promote the synthesis of keratin (a key component of the eyelashes) the experiment suggests that Steviosides might also promote the growth of eyelashes.
Most importantly, American giant Wal-Mart is taking a new look at the natural category which they estimate to be worth $37 billion retail. Last year, a new Wal-Mart megastore opened in Texas featuring more than 400 organic foods. Bearing in mind that Texas is said to be the junk food capital of the World, if the test store is successful, you can be sure that Wal-Mart will force suppliers to feed this demand at rock bottom rates and with Wal-Mart placing such big hopes on natural products, the rest of the market is sure to follow.
If you haven’t already thrown in the towel by now (organic fair traded cotton, of course) be reassured that small companies may actually be able to compete successfully in this bigger arena. Organic Monitor notes that the Body Shop’s products contain “synthetic preservatives and chemicals that are not found in most natural and organic personal care products”. They go on to insist that some consumers will switch to smaller brands because of ethical reasons. They will be a niche market but will be demanding and loyal so it will be sensible to have your own ethical concepts well thought out beforehand. There is no straight forward answer to this as there will always be a level of compromise somewhere along the line. The point is, that you should be able to defend your ethical standpoint and be comfortable with it.
However, as a final note just to reassure you though that not all manufacturers will be jumping on the natural bandwagon, the World giant Proctor & Gamble have patented antiperspirant compositions containing petrolatum. The product includes an active, petrolatum, a liquid carrier and a suspending agent.
As ever, we welcome your thoughts on this and will be happy to continue this thread.
Copyright Mike Harmon from Skinbuddy™ 2006
Mike Harmon is a Naturopath trained in Aromatherapy, Reflexology, Iridology, Massage and Colonic Hydrotherapy. He is also trained as a Master Cosmetologist.
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copyright Skinbuddy™/Mike Harmon 2006
