Throughout the world today, different shops and companies are trying to sell to a more modern world, a world that reads articles and watches television shows warning them about the dangers of “chemicals” and “inorganic” products, the danger of pesticides and the willingness of big corporations to set their values to the side to make an extra buck. Commercials and advertisements are now seeing an opportunity to take advantage of the scared and ignorant consumer, checking the labels of their products to make sure they are “chemical free”. What exactly does this mean? Chemical free. free of the very things that make up our own bodies? Free of the chemicals that create the world around us? I guess the concept of a product that is “Chemical free” just doesn’t appeal to me in the same way it does for so many other consumers. I would rather have a product that actually exists. So as i walked through the isle of CVS today and saw at the Burt’s Bees sunscreen that read “Chemical free” I did not stop to look any further and i certainly didn’t pick it up to put it in my basket.
I suppose the company Burt’s Bees was not trying to falsely claim the impossible, but rather put the idea of a product that was not free of chemicals into the mind of the customer. As a customer walks through the aisle and sees the label that reads “chemical free,” they think to themselves what products that are not chemical free must be made of. A distinction they had never once thought of suddenly comes into question. What if all of the other sunscreens they own have chemicals in them? what if every other cosmetic and lotion also have chemicals. Now they have to feel guilty about buying anything other than the products labelled “chemical free”, thereby creating a consumer that will likely come back to the company that steered them towards the light of a healthier, “chemical free” life.
By claiming their product is free of chemicals, companies like burt’s bees are creating a world that is scared of something that they have simply created as a marketing strategy. Well, I am here to inform you, my readers, that chemical free products, from a chemist’s point of view, do not exist. Are there some products that probably contain materials that could potentially harm you or be less healthy? sure. but the whole idea of a product that is chemical free does not exist because the entire world around us is made of chemicals. Everyone and everything contains chemicals by the definition of the word. So next time you see that burt’s bees sunscreen in the aisle, don’t feel guilty for what you own or feel like you need to change your life. instead, just look at what’s in it. Why are they claiming this product is better? look into the products you buy for yourself. Do not let companies and advertisements create the labels for you.
cheminlife21 