If It Seems Too Good to be True…
I recently visited a friend’s home, and was first introduced to the world of Melaleuca. My friend talked about how wonderful the products are in terms of both health and environmental considerations. But it all seemed too good to be true. Surely there has to be a catch. I’ve been spending t
ime on the internet trying to piece together what I can about these products in an un-biased way as possible, independently of melaleuca.com of course (although trying to find ingredient lists on melaleuca.com and figuring out how exactly a bar of soap can last six times longer based on science and reason, and not just promotional materials hasn’t been any easier…)
As referenced in my earlier post about the environmental considerations of shampoo, detergents and dishwashing soaps can have similar ingredients in terms of fragrances and sodium lauryl sulfate. However, reading Melaleuca’s ingredients was not helpful on its own…nonionic surfactant, fragrance, etc. It seems that if this company wanted to promote their product, the ingredient list might be a bit more transparent than “nonionic surfactant.” My friend mentioned a product that can be used both to clean floors and wash vegetables, but if I read the back of the package, there is an eye irritant warning. I’m not sure how comfortable I am putting an eye irritant into my body after washing my produce given some residue will inevitably remain no matter how well I wash my celery. I guess the company does promote that there is no formaldehyde or ammonia in their cleaning products, and this does appear to be the case based on reading the product label. That is nice, but what are the other ingredients listed on the product label more specifically?
I’ve tried researching the Oligo technology that is promoted by the company. The only real material I have found are some scientific papers on melaleuca.com, funded by Melaleuca also. While I can handle a scientific paper after reading and rereading a few times, referring a customer to melaleuca.com to read the same said paper might not go well for someone without enough of a background in scientific jargon. It would be nice to have the technology explained in simpler, more concise terms that one could actually refer a customer to, and stand a chance of having the customer really truly understand what he/she is reading.
The 35 point minimum purchase (approximately $50-60 per month without tax and shipping) is unsettling as well. If this is a company focused on being green, why make customers order products they may not want just to get from 28 points to 35 points? If you want 35+ points worth of products, great, but what if all you want is only worth 28 points? It is wasteful of raw materials, plastic containers whether for detergent or vitamins. I know they promote that these are products you buy anyway and that you are just switching stores and purchasing greener, healthier products that might be 6x concentrated and thus last longer. However, any savings seem to be negated by possibly having to buy additional products you wouldn’t ordinarily buy to make the 35 points. Shipping also negates some of the savings. Plus, if my detergent lasts six times longer, then I have to find some other product in two months to purchase instead of the detergent, which is fine if I want the alternative product, but negates savings if I don’t want said product.
I hear so many comparisons between Melaleuca and Amway…but what are the differences between Melaleuca and Seventh Generation products for example? Not that I am advocating Seventh Generation one way or the other, but in doing product comparison, I want all the information available. After all, Seventh Generation is something I can pick up at my convenience without having to pay shipping, waiting for the product to arrive, or depending on my internet to function correctly in a snowstorm so that I can order the product. Again, not that I am advocating it, but in terms of making an informed decision between all products on the market, what is the difference and what are the pros/cons to each product?
After what research I have done, I haven’t decided what I think of this company yet. It sounds great in theory, but if it is really as great as they are making themselves out to be, why isn’t the information on ingredients, why their products are supposedly different/better, etc. more transparent and accessible to the public in simple, easy to understand language? Why is it so hard to learn about who they really are?
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Summer Rayne Oakes looks over fabric swatches at Source4Style. Photo: courtesy Cartier Women's Initiative Award
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