Misleading claims hurt true greenies

The company that manufactures “Natural Instinct” has been found guilty of deliberately failing to list all ingredients such as Sodium Laureth Sulphate, listing some chemicals by incorrect names, and claiming that some products are "made from 100% pure oils and certified organic herbs" when in fact, only a very minor proportion of the product uses these. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has told it to publish corrective notices. Thank you to the Cleanlife blog for their story with all the details.

When I see a "natural" brand that is so low cost, it puzzles me how they can make the products so cheaply - either they contain a lot of fillers/bulking agents (like water and salt) or the ingredients are perhaps not as they say.

Not that a natural brand has to be expensive. There are some beautiful, reasonably priced natural beauty brands that use high quality ingredients to nourish your skin - like Bod and Sanctum.

Before I trust a company or its products, I like to know who are the people behind it, their story and their inspiration. With N.I., I was always concerned that I could not find any information about who they were. We all need to be sceptical consumers, try to garner as much information as we can to make an informed choice and, ultimately, rely on our own (dare I say) instinct.