I’ve admitted before I was a disaster of hazmat proportions at high school chemistry. Even now as a perfumer, I’m not too enthused about linalools and santalols, and forget all about the citronellols. But since my days as a rash 16 year old creating peanut brittles that Should Not Be (TM) I’ve learned a few things, and I’ve come to witness some assumptions that just make trouble for us all in the long run.
The first is that no one under the age of 30 seems to know how to crack a damn book anymore. Seriously, people, quit using the damn computer for your sole source of information and learn how to use a print index - reference books like encyclopedias at least have fact checkers for a starting point. The reason misinformation about naturals and natural materials spreads is because no one checks with a source, but just rips off of websites and repeats. I bring this up first because of a very nasty email I received from the author of DIY Naturally blog. Let’s say that the author favors her politics over dissemination of accurate information - or basic fact checking. I weep for generation Y; the Internet has done you no favors in teaching you to take criticism or engage in intelligent exchange.1
Second, this whole fuss about the the words chemical and natural. Both words should have meaning, and both words have been reduced to nothing more than pseudo-political buzzwords. It’s annoying, as a lot of people are going to get seriously hurt and likely have been seriously hurt by operating on the following incorrect assumptions:
1. If it’s chemical, it’s “bad.”
2. If it’s natural, it’s “safe.”
On point 1, EVERYTHING is a chemical. If you don’t want to check it in a sourebook or use your library card to look it up online, then check out the definition on about.com. Why do I trust this source? They tend to read the resumes of their writers before they hire and select people with qualifications on the given topic.
On point 2, I can tell you from the number of times and ways I’ve managed to hurt myself working with perfumery materials that natural does NOT automatically mean “safe.” Natural also does not always mean - paradoxical as this may sound - “environmentally friendly.” Cinnamon oil can burn you until you dilute it enough. Plenty of plants carry poison, and well, let’s say mercury was found in nature long before fish started eating it. There are some human made decisions that have led to mercury being way more of a danger, but it wasn’t created in a lab, that’s for sure.
Natural does not equal safe. Chemical is a neutral term. If you want to indicate a chemical does a Bad Thing (TM) it’s a good idea to refer to the specific chemical or specific effects of a chemical; broad brush painting of what chemicals do helps no one.
I too hope for the day when I can read an ingredients label and not need to pull out a McNally guide just to start figuring out what’s in something, but approaching it with the zealousy of a religious fanatic and using “good versus evil” terms is not going to help anyone.
- For those concerned about my possibly skirting libel law, this wouldn’t even make it to court because what I’m saying happened is verifiably true . I got that degree in mass communications, and sometimes, I USE that knowledge! [↩]
3 Responses to “All about Chemistry, Won’t You Teach Me Everything You Know”
This was a really well written article. Thanks for writing this out loud. Take care.
great site!
[...] researching greenwashing for a future post, I found a tidbit relevant to a post made prior this week about chemicals and how a great deal if misinformation about what chemicals are is being spread. [...]