Grrrrrr-eenwashing: Arbonne Exposed
When I tell people about my business, they often ask if I worry about competing with big all-natural beauty brands like Arbonne. They wonder how my natural products compare to the ones offered by this in-home party darling. I, of course, have had no idea how to answer their questions because I couldn’t find Arbonne’s ingredient lists for any of their products.
This past weekend I co-hosted a booth at the local Mind Body Life Expo, a big homeopathic love fest of salt rocks, acupuncturists, healing stones, beauty products, and even motivational speakers. In between the guy who was reading auras to diagnose allergies and the latest and greatest in anti-aging smoothies was the Arbonne booth. I took advantage of this rare opportunity to ask an Arbonne rep about the contents of their “pure and safe” skin care. She replied that they did not have the information about their natural products, but I was more than welcome to find complete ingredient information on the Arbonne website.
Rather than rant about the minutes of my life I wasted trying to find even one list of ingredients anywhere on the website, I will simply tell you that they do not exist. I knew I could not be the only one determined to know what was in the stuff, so I did a little web-sleuthing. Thanks to brave blogger Winking Brunette, I can now provide you with the dirty little secrets that apparently we’re supposed to be able to get via Arbonne consultants (let me repeat, I asked one and she quickly referred me to the website). Let’s take a look, shall we?
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Ingredients for Arbonne’s Line Defiance Liquid Foundation SPF15: Water, Octinoxate, Cyclopentasiloxane, Isododecane, Butylene Glycol, Peg/ppg-18/18 Dimethicone, Dimethicone, Polysilicone-11, Hexyl Laurate, Polyglyceryl-4 Isostearate, Dimethylacrylamide/acrylic Acid, Polystyrene Ethyl Methacrylate Copolymer Disteardimonium Hectorite, Cetyl Peg/ppg-10/1 Dimethicone, Caprylyl Glycol, Camellia Oleifera Leaf Extract, Panax Ginseng Root Extract, Portulaca Oleracea Extract, Lycium Barbarum Fruit Extract, Lecithin, Coco-caprylate/caprate, Dimethicone/divinyldimethicone, Silsesquioxane Crosspolymer, Magnesium Aluminum Silicate, Stearoxymethicone/dimethicone Copolymer, Peg-10 Dimethicone, Propylene Carbonate, Propylene Glycol Stearate, Propylene Glycol Laurate, Ethoxydiglycol, Dimethyl Isosorbide, Polysorbate 20, Sorbitan Laurate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Oligopeptide-10, Aminobutyric Acid, Barium Sulfate, Glycerin, Steareth-20, Hydroxypinacolone Retinoate, Chrysin, N-hydroxysuccinimide, Palmitoyl Hexapeptide-14, Palmitoyl Oligopeptide, Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7, Sodium Chloride, Stearic Acid, Sodium Dehydroacetate, Phenoxyethanol, Alumina, Titanium Dioxide (Ci 77891), Mica (77019), Iron Oxides (Ci 77491, Ci 77492, Ci 77499).
It’s practically like rubbing a garden all over your face!
Now I realize I’m likely to get more than one angry comment from someone linked to Arbonne, and to that I say, bring it on! Please, if this information is incorrect, enlighten us! I couldn’t help but notice, however, that the angry comments under the Winking Brunette post did not dispute the accuracy of the ingredients. So are they just upset to see the truth plastered on the web without a sales rep there to explain away our concerns?
The bottom line is that the vast majority of Arbonne customers are under the distinct impression that Arbonne products are natural. Yet, one quick look at the ingredient lists - should you exert the considerable effort necessary to find them - and it becomes quite clear that it takes some serious spin cycles to wash this line green.
There are plenty of natural foundations, and plenty of natural face products with SPF. I chose the foundation specifically because there are so many natural and organic foundations that are truly free of nasty synthetics. Besides, it’s not the actual ingredients list that upsets me - it’s the image Arbonne projects and the extent to which it runs contrary to the actual products. I have asked many, many people who say they use Arbonne (including someone today) if they were under the impression it was a natural skin care line, and they all say yes. That isn’t a “rogue” or “maverick” sales person. That is the image the company is trying to project.
I have a friend that introduced me to Arbonne a few months ago, She let me test some of the products… I too found it odd that the ingredients weren’t listed on any of the bottles or the boxes they came in. I ran upstairs to look at some of my REAL natural products to see if their ingredients were listed, and they were proudly displayed right on the lable on all of the products I had… It did make me doubt the integrity of Arbonnes products.
So, could any of you give me some names of the best Organic, Natural facial products out there? Thank you for being brave and determined enough to post this!
Oh my gosh there are tons of them! Our top sellers include suki, Logona, Organoderm Foaming Facial Cleanser, and Santaverde. Intelligent Nutrients has a fabulous USDA certified line coming out in April. Other great brands include Jurlique, Shea Terra, and Dr. Alkaitis, just to name a few!
Hey all, I was reading through all of this, and I just thought I would share some thoughts. The #1 problem with all of this is that there is absolutely NO regulation on what “natural” means. You can slap that on pretty much anything. This, of course weakens anyone’s argument that says Arbonne is “natural”, but it also weakens anyone’s argument that says that some other products are actually “natural”, and Arbonne’s aren’t. There is no “natural” certification.
So yes, there are a lot of companies out there that love using this “buzz word” to increase sales, and I am sure that some of the Arbonne consultants out there do it, also. BUT, I am an Arbonne consultant (for 3.5 years), with a degree in Biology (not saying that to sound impressive, but to explain that I enjoy researching products/ingredients), and I know for a FACT that Arbonne teaches us NOT to say that we are “all-natural.”
Here is what I say at presentations, with all being true: We are botanically based, hypoallergenic, pH correct, do not use animal products or by products, do not test on animals, are free of mineral oil and artificial dyes. I never once say we are all-natural. I do go into detail about each of those points and why they are all important. But I ALSO SAY, that we blend the best of science and nature. That is an Arbonne quote.
As much as I know that going more natural is good, there are also a lot of natural ingredients that are not beneficial to the skin/body, but people don’t care because it’s “natural” or “organic.” I appreciated Arbonne because of the extensive human panel tests that they do with all of their products. A lot of $$ goes into that, which is why a lot of companies aren’t willing to do it.
Anyway, I’m not here to say Arbonne is the best, or that you can’t find other good products out there, but I have done some hard core research on everything from parabens to triethanolamine to grape seed extract, and I know the scare tactics used by “all-natural” and “organic” companies to make people think that anything with a scientific ingredient in it means that you’re not safe. I’m not saying you guys are doing that, but I just ride the fence on that arena. It’s all about the integrity of the company that makes the products. Which, by the way, it is ILLEGAL to not put ingredients on a label. If you received an Arbonne product without the ingredients on the label, you probably bought it off Ebay. Every box has the ingredients listed. The bottles themselves may not, but the box they are shipped in will have them.
And lastly, the proof is in the pudding. If you love your products, rock on, and don’t worry about Arbonne. For me, I have never had better skin until Arbonne. Truly. So, I know they work, and I know they are safe, and that is all I care about.
Sorry that was so long. :o)
Oh and one more thing. 90% of my customers are people who buy their skincare from Wally-world. They aren’t buying products that even have a single botanical or natural ingredient in it. So to them, when I talk about some of our ingredients, they ARE very different and MORE NATURAL than what they are used to. I am sure that is why the people you talk to would say that Arbonne’s products are “natural.” Everyone’s definition of natural is different! So though they may seem misled in your eyes, if they switched from some $1 lotion with mineral oil in it to an Arbonne lotion with botanical oils, to them that IS natrual…even if it does have some “un-natural” ingredients along with those botanicals.
In other words, if I had a customer that was all about organic and all-natural products, such as yourself, I would be honest with them, and I have been in the past. I tell them that we use less than .5% of preservatives, and we also have other scientific ingredients. I’m not going to lie to anyone. But I also back that up with Arbonne’s extensive testing to reassure that it’s safe. If they decline on purchasing, I totally understand. They have a different conviction, and that’s fine with me.
Thank you so much! I will check them out!
Rachel, I was wrong about the ingredients not being on the box that the arbonne product came in, I later saw that it was on the box. It would be a good if the ingredients were listed on the bottles as well. (of course that is out of your hands)
Thank you for pointing out some REALLY valid points. I really enjoyed the products my friend allowed me to try.
I agree with you about everyone’s opinion about “natural” being different. Most people who use regular soap that they buy in a store are not aware of the animal bi products in them… so switiching to Arbonne would be a great benefit to them and to their body. And is a lot more “natural” than dove!
All in all, you just have to know what you are getting and know what you are selling if you are a distributor! People just need to wise up!
I’ve naively tried a few arbonne products a few years ago, and somewhat liked a few, such as the herbal vapor rub, men’s aftershave lotion, vitamin c lotion, but they are sooo stinkin’ expensive, I won’t be buying them again (at the time, I was getting a big discount through someone for a first-time-try).
That being said, their makeup is not good…not good at all. I tried to find the ingredients and couldn’t…then decided to try it anyway since they claimed it was so wonderful for sensitive/problem skin…it’s Not. Point blank. No wonder, now that I can see some of the ingredients. Only recently did I realize that my skin is not bad….it just can’t take all the chemicals in artificial cleaners and makeups! Going green is not Just good for the earth, it’s good for people, too! What I am most grateful for, is the opportunity to learn how to give the gift of a natural and gentle environment for my sensitive-skinned boy and my makeup-enthusiastic girl. =)
Arbonne never makes direct claims that their products are natural, but people make that assumption based on the company’s marketing. They often use photos of plants and nature in their catalogs and web site, and their slogan “pure, safe, beneficial” is often misinterpreted as “natural”. “Pure” to them means using the “best” ingredients that nature and science have to offer. So, they purposely use synthetic ingredients because they feel they are the best.
I agree they need to be more forward with their ingredients. Their ingredient lists ARE on their web site, but only in a consultant-only area of the web site. You will need a consultant # and PIN to get to it. It sounds like the consultant you spoke with didn’t know this, and thought everyone had access to the lists. Non-consultants are supposed to be able to get them through consultants, that’s how their business is set up. Sounds like this lady needs to go back to Arbonne University (yes, here is such a thing) and re-take Basic Consulting 101.
I love Arbonne’s products because they work for me. I don’t really care that they’re not 100% natural. I’m not one of those people that worries about every single ingredient in my personal care products. Life is too short for that. However, if you’re the type that likes natural beauty products, Arbonne is not for you. I would stick with Burt’s Bees or similar lines.
Rachel, I am a new consultant with Arbonne and absolutely love this company and their products. I would love to chat with you about ingredients if you have the time. Are you still a consultant? do you have a myarbonne site??