AN UPDATE ON NATIVE PRODUCTS

(Plus Bonus Safe Products Links)

You may have seen Native products in TV ads, online, or on store shelves. Native touts their products as being “clean.” You may have wondered if the name was too good to be true. Let’s take a look.

The company was started in 2015 by Moiz Ali, who wanted safer products. There were 10 employees and Native products were only available direct-to-consumer. In 2017, Native sold to P&G, Procter & Gamble, for $100 million. Moiz Ali retained a role in the brand.

Although this provided more distribution, P&G had a history of adding synthetics to their products. Even the term “natural” is sometimes in question. There are substances in nature that are toxic or can become toxic when processed, such as petrochemicals. Maintaining ethical standards had come into question. Let’s examine two of the current products:

Native Body Wash

In addition to some safe ingredients, this product also contains Cocamidopropyl Betain, a surfectant derived from coconut oil. However, when processed it becomes a synthetic. It can also cause a reaction in those allergic to coconut. Then, there is Fragrance. Many of the body washes contain fragrance, (unless specifically marked Unscented). These are not all natural, but a blend containing synthetics or lab-made to mimic natural scents. They are bad news and rated by Environmental working Group an 8 on a scale of 10, with 10 being the worst.

Native Deodorant

This gender-neutral product has, in addition to some safe ingredients, Ozokerite, a type of wax mineraloid derived from coal and shale or petroleum and becomes a petrochemical when processed. Also, if under-refined it can suffer contamination as well. It is a marine pollutant. Fragrance–once again, the source of the fragrance is undisclosed. This loophole allows companies to hide a mix of numerous chemicals legally. If concerned, only use the product marked “Unscented.”

A Quality Life blog suggests reading labels, even in stores like Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s. We also found two great websites:

The Good Trade, which lists “10 Best Natural and Organic Body Washes (2025 Review)”

www.thegoodtrade.com/features/organic-body-wash

Roam and Thrive, which lists “The Best Non-Toxic Deodorants That Really Work”

https://roamandthrive.com/the-best-non-toxic-natural-deodorants/

Happy shopping!