Natural Products – An Inside Look at My Selection Process

March 3, 2014|Natural Remedies, Toxin-Free Living|Caroline Sarda4

Natural products – My Values

Some of you may be offended by the nickname “anal” but I’m not! I am anal about the all natural products I carry because I have integrity and to sleep at night knowing that I’m helping you. I want to have a fair exchange of value between us. The reason I started my business XLvita.com and blog was to provide worthwhile educational tools and give you a reliable place to get all natural products that are truly toxin-free for health, personal care, and beauty.

I used to abuse my body. I’m not proud of this but it’s the truth. I have now learned how amazing you can feel when you take care of yourself. For me, that means eating right, doing regular cleanses/detoxes, juicing, exercising, meditating, using pure and natural products, avoiding meds and OTC drugs like the plaque, and doing things that make me happy like reading a good book, making jewelry, catching up with a great friend or Skyping with my parents who live abroad…

Natural Products Selection Process at Expo West

I started thinking about my process for acquiring new all natural products because this weekend, I have the pleasure of going to the biggest natural products expo in the world, Expo West.  This is where manufacturers from around the globe come to share their latest and greatest natural products. This will be my third year and an event I look forward to all year.

I delight in the fact that so many manufacturers of all natural products are hard at work to provide us all safer and more effective products. The number of organic products as well as gluten-free, dairy-free and sugar-free foods is mind-blowing.

My detective work will lead me to spend three entire days talking to manufacturers and sampling different toxin-free products that I then research some more to be sure it meets all my safety and quality requirements – making sure that they are truly all natural products. Since I am a relationship builder, I want to know and trust the people I do business with. I’m actually a good judge of character (except for this one bad boy I dated many years ago) so I really like to connect with my peers are Expo West.

Natural Products Selection Process in Detail

Now onto my detective work aka my process for taking on new products.

1. I first identify if the product in question is natural and effective. I live by less is more so look for products with multiple functions like Colloidal Silver or Puremedy’s Original Salve or Altearah’s Eaux de Parfum.
2. I then do a quick scan on the ingredients. I have a hard enough time remembering first names let alone ingredients like Disodium Cocoyl Glutamate. If the obvious offenders like parabens, sulfates, petrochemicals, artificial dyes or coloring… are missing, I will request a sample from a manufacturer.
3. I research every ingredient in the product. I have a huge database where I keep track of every product I’ve looked at and its ingredients. If I am unsure about any of the ingredients, I will contact the manufacturer and ask such things as:
   1. What is the source of the fragrance? If essential oils are used, I say great. If synthetic, I say bye-bye.
   2. Where are your ingredients sourced? There are countries on my Do-Not-Buy list so if ingredients come from these particular countries, I will not buy the product in question.
   3. Are the ingredients non-GMO?
   4. Does your company test on animals or use any animal by-product?
4. I then test the product on myself and my hubby Patrick. He is the exact opposite of me in that he is very sensitive to products and not easily enthusiastic. So it’s great for us both to test products because we cover the two extremes. I will even ask friends, family, and my clients to test products to get their very valuable feedback.
5. If the ingredients are safe, the manufacturer answers the above questions favorably and the product passes our personal test , I will then look further into the company. I like doing business with companies that have integrity, respect for the earth, and who do what they can to have a positive impact and make a difference in their communities and beyond.
6. After that, if all the tests have been passed, there is only one thing left to do. Share these amazing all natural products with you!

I look forward to reporting back what treasures I find this weekend at Expo West.