Oprah's marketing machine misleading to consumers

How many of you have purchased a product or service or admired something because it's been endorsed by someone you respect? I've done it countless time I'm sure. Just last week, I purchased Oprah's recent book club. (I actually learned of it before I knew Oprah endorsed it!) There's a lot of buzz now about 'natural' and organic products, including Shaklee which although they don't claim to be organic, they've made a huge comeback thanks to Oprah's endorsement a few months ago. The New York Times published an article today and other recent reports of an emerging trend in home parties, called the EcoMom Party which promotes 'natural products' primarily Shaklee.

Now, I'm not out to knock anyone's business, but this is where I get revved up. I cannot help but wonder if the people making and selling Shaklee and other natural imposters really think or know if their products are truly natural? I recently contacted Shaklee to ask for a copy of its product ingredients. Nothing is listed on the company's website which as a 'natural' company you'd expect they'd want to promote and market. They provided me with a glossary of definitions listing general terms like 'emulsifiers' and 'humectants' with no specific ingredients breakdown. When I asked for a specific list of what ingredients were included, I was told they do not provide that info. Huh?? You're a 'natural' company right? Don't you want to market that? Isn't that something your customers would want to know? Obviously not. So, instead they choose to market an image of ambiguity and the perception of purity to consumers. We need to do better.

Consumer purchases are based on choices. Until companies begin to ethically promote transparency in product ingredients and government better enforces labeling standards, we need to continue education in order to help people understand that safer and pure alternatives are available.