Natural Selections Liberal KS
Lawrence , KS
Wichita, KS
Overland Park, KS
Lawrence, KS
Olathe, KS
Overland Park , KS
Overland Park, KS
Wichita, KS
Overland Park, KS
Wichita, KS
Natural Selections
Natural Selections: Don’t Believe Every Bottle You Read
By Olivia Campbell
Web exclusive
Rushing through the aisles, trying to outrun your baby’s inevitable grocery store meltdown and avert the toddler candy tantrum, you remember you’re out of baby soap. Being the informed and concerned parent you are, you grab a large bottle of “Natural-organic-soothing-hypoallergenic-unscented-tear-free-you’d have to be a terrible parent NOT to buy this” soap.
That evening, as your little ones splash in the sweet-smelling bubbles, you catch a glimpse of the ingredient list on that new bottle of baby wash—“PEG 80 Sorbitan Laurate, Cocamidopropyl Bentaine, Sodium Trideceth Sulfate, Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, PEG 150 Distearate …”∗
What? How natural is it if you can barely pronounce it?
What makes a product natural anyway? Who regulates that term and other related terms? Surely companies have to meet certain standards to use these terms, right? How do you know this product is actually free of chemicals and toxins, and therefore worth the extra cost?
It turns out the answer is more complicated than it should be.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) doesn’t regulate the use of the terms organic, natural, hypoallergenic, or any other enticing adjectives that adorn baby care products, which renders the terms essentially meaningless.