Marketplace: Lousy Labels

Marketplace (CBC TV, click here to see the episode) ran an episode on Friday night all about poor labelling and those companies that try to make us think they are green, natural, or organic. I thought this would be an interesting show because I am getting so sick and tired of seeing the word "natural" on every product from body care products to diapers to dog food to windshield washer (okay, that last one was a lie, but the rest of them are true).

Their expert is a woman whose claim to fame is that she is an "avid label reader" and the author of a book on living green, as opposed to a cosmetic chemist or someone who could actually pronounce the ingredients she was maligning. Instead of explaining why the product shouldn't be called green or natural, the expert made comments I thought she wasn't qualified to make like parabens being estrogenic or that siloxane (cyclomethicone) has been banned by Health Canada (which it most certainly has not!) If you're interested, click here and scroll down for Health Canada's take on parabens and silicones. 

I think the points they make on the show are great - yes, we need to read labels and yes, we need to be aware of the ingredients in products - but I thought the expert made comments that weren't factual, the show didn't actually give us some ideas of ingredients we should look out for in products, and we didn't get any real information as to why these products aren't considered green or natural. I thought the host's comments about putting the responsibility on the customer was valid, but I think we as consumers need to take some responsibility for learning a little more about the products we buy. 

I'm not saying that we need to spend every waking moment learning chemistry and researching ingredients - not mentioning any names around here! - but if living green or natural is so important to someone, I don't think it's asking much to learn a little more about what we're putting on and into our bodies or homes. I get so frustrated by the bastardization of the word natural and frustrated by all the false claims about being organic or green or "good for you", so I'm glad to see a show of this nature. But I wouldn't have learned a thing about how to analyze labels, watch for those products, and avoid paying a fortune for false claims, and that's what this show used to be about! 

I used to love this show but I was disappointed to see it now airs with commercial breaks (they used to keep it ad free so they could remain unbiased and unpressured) and I miss Wendy Mesley!