A while ago (OK, actually about 18 months ago) I was on a journey to find a job I could do from home. A friend mentioned she had something I might like and to make a long story short, I was introduced to Melaleuca. I thought hmmm, I can buy safe products for my family and also make a business out of this.
I was told they don't use harsh chemicals and their products are green and natural. They've got it all - over 350 products ranging from cleaning supplies to personal care products and vitamins. You are basically switching stores and buying your necessities from Melaleuca - which by the way are supposed to be much higher quality, and cheaper - than what you get at Walmart. Plus they are safer for the environment and your health.
The first thing I didn’t like about this company was that I had to sign up to purchase 35 product points a month, which seemed a lot for my family. Oh yeah, and if you didn’t order, you had to have a back up order on file and they would automatically send you that and charge your card.
Well I decided to give it a try, and found we did like the products.
I tried building a business, and at first found a few people to enroll as customers. One of the big things Melaleuca pushes is there is "no selling, no inventory, no large investment" so a lot of people seemed interested. That was until they had to call into a phone presentation to find out what the business actually was. A lot of people felt it was a scam.
I soon found out that it was more work than it was worth, as the average amount you make from "introducing someone to the company" was only $2.45. In order to make any sort of residual income, you need to get hundreds, if not thousands of people enrolled.
Now, one of the friends I told about the Melaleuca green products got back tome with some interesting info. She had been doing some research into the ingredients in the products and found that Melaleuca wasn't so green after all.
One of the personal products she was looking at was the Koala pals for her sons and the Renew Body wash for herself.
Some of the ingredients:
PEG 80 Sorbitan Laurate, is not safe to use on injured or damaged skin. There is also a strong evidence of being a human skin toxicant and is a primary skin irritant. Not good for everyday use, only limited use.
Cocamidopropyl Betaine, is a skin sensitizer – an agent that can induce allergic reaction in the skin or lungs. Again not safe for everyday use, only safe for limited use.
Fragrance, is a known human immune system toxicant. Also has a score of 8 for high hazard.
Other toxic ingredients included in these products were - Benzyl Alcohol (a solvent), Butylphenyl Methylpropional (a synthetic scent ingredient associated with allergies and contact dermatitis), and Amylcinnamyl Alcohol (known human immune system toxicant/allergen).
After hearing this, I went and checked a product I absolutely LOVE - Sol-U-Mel. To my surprise, the first ingredient in Sol-U-Mel is SD Alcohol 40B - which is a mixture of ethanol with a denaturing agent. For those that don't know, ethanol is considered broadly toxic and linked to birth defects following excessive oral ingestion. Now most people won't drink Sol-U-Mel, however Melaleuca is proud to say they don't need to put safety caps on their products as they are safe. I don't think Sol-U-Mel is all that safe now!!
I could go on and on about the ingredients on these products but how can a “wellness” company sell products like these? This company is definitely not a green company. They claim that Johnson’s baby wash is harmful and toxic. Well most of the ingredients in Johnson’s is also in their koala pals and Renew body wash. A lot of their labels don't even list the ingredients included in a product! That to me is a red flag right there.
If you are using any of the Melaleuca products, I urge you to read the labels and do your homework. Seriously grab this list of chemicals. Then look at the products in your home like your deodorant, shampoo, mouthwash, baby lotion, hand creams, household cleaners and make up. See if they contain any one or more of these products.
Sorry Melaleuca, unfortunately I will be cancelling my Melaleuca membership and looking for something truly safe for my family.
No comments:
Post a Comment