Companies publishing (annotated) ingredient lists

[BittSweetCherry]

Hello LHCers,

I just had a pleasant surprise: on the Australian version of The Body Shop site, I've just discovered that they are not only listing all the ingredients in their haircare products, but stating their purpose.

For example:

"Coconut Oil Hair Shine 50g

Ingredients: Hydrogenated Coconut Oil (Emollient/Hair Conditioner), Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride (Emollient), PEG-8 Beeswax (Emulsifier), Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil (Emollient/Hair Conditioner), Lanolin (Emollient), Carnauba (Copernica Cerifera (Carnauba) Wax) (Stabiliser/Viscosity Modifier), Octyldodecanol (Emollient), Parfum (Fragrance), Mica (Opacifier), Daucus carota (Carrot Oil) (Natural Additive), Propylparaben (Preservative), Methylparaben (Preservative), Tocopherol (Antioxidant), CI 77891 (Colour), CI 77492 (Iron Oxides) (Colour) "

I have no idea what their products are like so this isn't a review, but I am very much taken by the effort taken to detail in the ingredients list. It's almost like they know we are watching them....

I also note, however, that they have not done this for the skincare products I clicked on - only plain ingredient lists there.

Has any other company taken this step? Is it a sign companies are noting increasing consumer awareness? Does anyone think this kind of thing will be a marketing/financial success, or that it will take off?

And who else loves sites that provide ingredient lists, period? :D

[Shell]

I have also noticed this trend, though I can't think of any brands at the moment. Another place to find ingredient lists (believe it or not!) is ebay. Often sellers list ingredients for their products. I have found hard to locate online ingredient lists there--for Morrocco Method for example.

[alys]

burts bees does it

[Melisande]

Many German products I can think of do the same. They have an annotated ingredient list in German because the international ingredient lists are in English. So they add the German translation (for herb and plant extracts) and explanation (for chemical ingredients) in brackets. Alverde, Sante and Bluetezeit do it that way.

I think it's a good idea because it entices buyers to read the ingredient list. Not everybody does that, especially not if the list looks like a secret code.

[snowbear]

I love that more companies are doing it. For those that aren't, Skin Deep (http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/index.php?nothanks=1) has a handy compendium.

[LaCitoyenne]

I like knowing exactly what's in a product! I don't like having to hunt around for ingredients all over the 'Net. I'm happy to say that amazon.com is another place where you can often find this information.

If a company does list its ingredients, I think it's in their best interest to provide a reassuring explanation of each one. (Sometimes you'll find it in their Glossary.) "Octyldodecanol" doesn't sound so enticing, but when I'm told it's an emollient, I'm more inclined to think, OK, it's not so bad!!

If a product contains "carrot oil", why not just say so, instead of using the lofty "Daucus carota" :p

[iris]

The unilever website does that for the sunsilk products - it gives a table with one column for the ingredients and the other column explaining what each does. I like it, too.

Iris