Naturally Inspired – The Billion Dollar Words

Naturally Inspired

Things like this really bother me, so being that I like things to really be natural, I wanted to bring to your attention some of the marketing tricks out there to be aware of

Naturally inspired soap – sounds good, if you think about these words, they really imply that you have been inspired by something in nature and that’s really it.

Marketing and its strategic wording, written and created by experts, has let us believe a multitude of things.  Hiding behind their selection of words and phrases and our lack of linguistic degrees is how advertising can mislead us.




A perfect example would be that you could actually name a company “Totally Organic” soap or creams or whatever you want and really all it is is a name, it is not a declaration that what your are making is organic.

The term “Hypo-allergenic” simply means that there are no ingredients that are scientifically proven to cause skin reactions.

“Dermatologist recommended” means that somewhere, a dermatologist recommended this product to someone.

Below are some terms I have seen being used….enjoy

•  Made Fresh – I like this one, it could be made fresh, but it certainly doesn’t mean it’s natural.
• Not tested on animals – maybe the product was not tested on animals, but how can you be sure that every single ingredient has not been tested as ingredients come from all over the world, including places not known for their ethics.
• Fair Trade – an important issue and I’m glad to see that it is happening, but remember that just because it says Fair Trade does not mean that the finished product is natural.
• Natural based – lol! really?  natural based does not mean that it is all natural and safe to use.  Even plastic is natural based as it comes from crude oil!
• Preservative Free – I think this is funny when I see it on a soap product, that doesn’t need a preservative in the first place.  And preservative free does not mean “chemical free” or “fragrance free” or “sodium laurel sulphate free” or “stabilizer free” or “synthetic free”
• Eco-Friendly – I have seen this word being used way more.  Even saw a paving company with a sign say they were eco-friendly……really?  I’m not so sure about that.
• Vegan – remember this just means that the product does not contain any animal products.  It does not mean there are no chemicals or synthetics in it.
• Authentic – means it is genuine, it does not mean the product is natural
• Pure – this is another one…pure what? Pure chemical?
• Essence – A synthetic scent – but nice try looks similar to Essential as in Essential Oils.  Essential oils are true scents and fragrance oils are chemicals.  Marketers will often use the term Essence for Fragrances.
• Fresh Scent of – simple means that the scent is a fresh version of something not necessarily natural
• Infusion – means mixed or strained, does not mean that it was mixed and strained with all natural ingredients.
• No Sodium lauryl sulphate – this is a toxic bubbling agent often found in shampoos and bubble baths but not in soap.  I have seen companies claim it is not in their soap……I would hope not, but saying that there could be other bubbling agents just not this one.
• Clinically Tested – means there has been some type of record keeping and observation done in a clinical setting.  This does not mean the product is perfect or natural

So there you have it, some interesting words to think about.  When an effort is made to use words that are open to interpretation, this is done specifically to lead your thoughts to where the marketers want you to go.

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