Purex Natural Elements

  Natural products have become more noticed by consumers within the past 15 years than any other time. Consumers and shoppers are frequently finding their favorite and most trusted brands now selling naturally made products in their market. According to the 2006 Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability Market Report, approximately 150 million consumers, which adds up to about 64 percent of the U.S. population, are now more open than ever to purchasing and using natural products. These statistics show a 12.2 percent increase since 2005. With this momentum, the laundry detergent brand Purex made its way into the homes of consumers that are environmentally conscious in August 2007 with the release of Purex Natural Elements laundry detergent.

  Dr. Richard Smith, an Environmental Engineer for the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), explained how natural cleaning products, such as Purex Natural Elements, are environmentally friendly.

  "Natural cleaning products are most significantly less toxic to the environment in that they do not normally contain the more chemically reactive materials that would be found in many non-natural products," said Smith. "Products like drain cleaners contain extremely toxic acids, bleaches, lye, etc., that once they have been introduced into the environment, they must be treated with extreme caution to prevent overall environmental degradation."

  Purex Natural Elements is hypoallergenic and free from phosphates (which can significantly degrade water quality) and dyes, and designed to clean exclusively with naturally derived cleaning ingredients. The ultra concentrated product is composed of a biodegradable, non-toxic detergent formula that is sold in 50 oz. and 100 oz. recyclable packaging. Ultra Concentrate detergent is beneficial compared to regular laundry detergent in that it requires only half the amount of liquid for the same number of loads as well as using less water and producing less waste.

  The term "natural" can jump out to consumers and be a good marketing scheme for a brand to sell its naturally made product. However, the government unregulated term can also have some consumers scratch their heads and become disbelievers. Smith says that neither the EPA nor even the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) are normally involved in the approval process for natural products.

  "Natural products are often times misunderstood by the general public in that they feel there are no negative impacts," said Smith. "That may be true in most cases but many times these so called natural products have not been specifically evaluated by a regulatory entity to determine whether the claims of natural are true and not just buzz words to sell products.  So it is basically buyer beware."

"There are just so many natural products on the market that the evaluation of all of them would significantly impact the other work that the EPA and FDA do on a daily basis," adds Smith. "The agencies are more often reactive rather than pro-active in their scope."

  According to a Purex press kit released to announce the conception of Purex Natural Elements, Purex defines what they consider to be the definition of a natural product. This definition included the product being biodegradable, which should be confirmed by an outside independent laboratory, and a large portion of the product coming from natural and renewable sources.

  "Many times some of these natural compounds [and] products are synthesized in the laboratory and may not be exactly the same material as the original natural occurring material," said Smith. "Also, they may need to add emulsifiers and binders to specific products prior to their distribution to enhance the material's properties and these products may or may not be from a natural source."

  Smith goes on to explain that many of the so called "natural products" are not adequately tested by governmental regulatory agencies, such as the FDA.

  "Many of these so called natural products are not adequately tested by governmental regulatory agencies" said Smith. "That is why in the fine print of these products…it indicates that the product is not meant to cure any particular disease, because of potential legal ramifications. Normally the only time EPA would get involved is when a product has been determined to be specifically detrimental to the environment through its use."

  An attempt to contact Purex in regards to the nature and composition of Purex Natural Elements, as well as a more specific definition behind the word "natural," was taken, but no comment was given.

  Natural cleaning products have an advantage over non-natural cleaning products when it comes to their practical use if the product does work as advertised. Of course, though, there are some natural cleaning products in existence that are not strong enough to replace many of their more non-natural equivalents.

  "Natural products do reduce the potential for many more toxic chemicals and compounds from entering the environment," said Smith. "I do not believe that we should abandon natural products without first testing them for their effectiveness in application. If you find a natural product that works, then by all means it should be substituted for its more toxic equivalent, but this does not always work."