The Issue with Organic and Vegetarian

I just read Viva Woman's post today - Why Can't Organic Skincare Be Alcohol-Free?, and I feel really heated up the issue she brought up, so this will be a follow-up post to air my thoughts on the same issue.

The main reason why I feel so disappointed, frustrated and cheated, is because I have been ordering my meals from vegetarian stalls recently, and I found out that vegetarian vegetables are very oily and salty.

I think the underlying emotion in people who go vegetarian, natural, and/or organic, is to want to lead a healthier lifestyle. This essentially means we expect, asuume, and want our vege and organics to be done in the most natural and healthy way.

And the same sentiment goes for organic skincare. People who use organic, and bother to pay a higher price for it, simply want something that is milder, gentler, and less toxic/poisonous/chemical ingredients.

That said, I agree with Viva Woman that alcohol content in organic skincare lines (in any form) is simply unacceptable.

We should not condone those skincare lines that tout organic, but are not moving towards the low chemical content way. I'd also like to boycott the vegetarian stalls that serve too oily and salty food, but it is quite impossible. As outside food are all like that, so it doesn't makes much of a difference whether I buy vege from Mixed Rice or Vegetarian stall.

I am looking forward to the day that the voices of pro-natural consumers can be better heard. So that companies will be under pressure to really take care of the ingredients, rather than try to add little things like alcohol in, put the rest of the ingredients as organic certified, and market it big as an organic line, trying to cheat consumers into buying.

It's like how Dettol launched a new line of Dettol Natural. C'mon, Dettol? Natural? How can it be? The market segment who buys Dettol don't even care for natural. They want the clean feel and chemicals that can do the hygiene job. They are not so concerned about colour or fragrance (though it helps). Furthermore, the "natural" market segment would also not even think about touching Dettol. So how is that launching Dettol Natural can expand its market share significantly???

Bottomline here, is as Sesame says, we are the ones using whatever products we buy, so we have to be responsible for ourselves, increase our knowledge, know how to read the ingredients, and be an educated consumer who can make an informed choice.