"Natural" Definitions

What does “Natural” Mean?

Did you know?  The FDA has not developed any rules or regulations on the defining features of what qualifies a product as "natural?” The FDA does reference a definition of "natural" in their informal policy (Ref. 53) that defines "natural" as "nothing artificial or synthetic (including colors regardless of source) is included in, or has been added to, the product that would not normally be expected to be there."

However, when a company says “natural,” there is no universal definition of what that means, or if it even is natural by your standards.  Many companies “green-wash” their products, calling them natural when they in fact contain synthetic substances.

Green Tidings wants to be as transparent as possible, so that you know what you’re getting.  When we say “natural,” we want to be clear what we consider “natural.” 

When we say “natural” on our website, label, or marketing materials, we define “natural” as: 

Any ingredient manufactured, produced, or extracted from a naturally-occurring source, without undergoing a significant chemical change that makes the majority of it structurally different from how it naturally occurs, and with nothing artificial or synthetic added.

Take Our Natural Deodorant Ingredients, For Example:

Sodium Bicarbonate: Most natural deodorants use synthetic backing soda, which is created by treating a sodium carbonate or a sodium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate solution with carbon dioxide, ammonia, and a brine solution (hello, skin irritation!). Why do they do this when they can use natural baking soda?  Simple.  It's cheaper.

Unlike most others on the market, Green Tidings proudly uses a supplier of baking soda who supplies nahcolite, which is sodium bicarbonate in its pure mineral form, which allows our supplier to produce a completely natural product requiring zero chemical alteration. They recover sodium bicarbonate from the earth by pumping hot water approximately 1900 feet underground to dissolve the underlying nahcolite beds and return the bicarb saturated water to the surface. The saturated brine is pumped back to the processing facility where the sodium bicarbonate is crystallized by reducing the temperature, and the crystals are collected. Excess water is then removed by high speed spin drying. The resultant damp crystal mass is further dried, screened and packed in accordance with industry designated specifications. All while maintaining stringent quality accreditation standards.

Magnesium Chloride: 

Our magnesium chloride was drawn up from two naturally occurring underground wells 1400 feet below the Earth’s surface, has not undergone any chemical changes, and is not chemically or structurally different from how it naturally occurs in nature. 

Tocopherol: There are two origins of tocopherol (also known as Vitamin E):  Natural and Synthetic.  Our tocopherol, also known as d-Tocopherol, is from sunflower oil, and is known as a “natural mixed tocopherol.”  Synthetic vitamin E is known as  "dl-alpha-tocopherol."

Rest Assurred

If you have any questions about any of our ingredients, definitions, statements, or terms please contact us.