Many products on the market today claim to be "natural." But what is natural? Most people have a common-sense definition of what it is or should be. The definition of "Natural" is important. It sets apart socially responsible companies from the rest. Synthetic ingredients can be toxic, but are usually more cost effective than natural ingredients giving the mass-marketed corporations a competitive advantage. The big companies know that the natural product market is growing by 25% every year and consumers are demanding products that are healthier and better for the environment. These big corporations have jumped on the "natural" bandwagon and are using their marketing machines to take advantage of this demand. Having a loose definition of natural is just what they want. Take a look at the supermarket shelves and you will see the multitude of "natural" claims. Their definition of natural includes manipulated and chemically altered ingredients. To them "natural" is just another marketing gimmick, not a way of life. With all of the inappropriate claims out there, it's hard to get consumers to realize Pure & Basic products are really natural. With so many products on the market claiming to be natural and so few government resources to enforce misleading claims, it is up to consumers to identify what is truly natural. Consumers should carefully read product labels including ingredient lists and then vote for their definition of natural with their buying power! Some ingredients in mass-marketed personal care products have even been proven harmful to human health and can cause severe skin irritation in some people. Some companies will include a trace of truly natural ingredients in a product with some of the harmful ingredients and claim the product is natural. This is very unfortunate and clearly misleading! What natural means at Pure & Basic. It means no artificial colors or fragrances and no animal testing. Natural is about better choices and the responsibility inherent in those choices: organic before pesticides; botanicals before artificial colors or fragrances; vegetable-based before animal-based; and reusable before disposable. Natural is about socially responsible business, looking at how we source, formulate and package and reuse or safely dispose of what's left. It's about the relationship between producer and consumer and the planet that we share.