You know what I've learned over the last 20+ years of using essential oils?
There are virtually no rules about essential oil companies putting "100% pure" on the label when the oil inside isn’t. Even finding the rules or regulations for each company is pretty much impossible.
I spent a few hours trying to find a concrete answer as to the regulations of essential oils ... and I couldn't find anything!
LEARNING WHAT PURE MEANS
If a product with essential oils in it is marketed as having therapeutic benefits, they're regulated like a drug. If they're marketed as making your skin better, they are deemed as cosmetic. But that doesn't speak about the labelling laws and what can and cannot be said on the package.
Turns out, the FDA doesn't regulate between a fragrance from a plant extract (i.e. an essential oil) and a synthetic chemical constituent that gives a product the same fragrance.
This is why it's so confusing when you look at the ingredient list on an essential oil and only see one ingredient: 100% pure "insert name of plant" essential oil.
There are also other loopholes like "trade secrets" that do not have to be disclosed on the labels.
essential oils that have been popping up everywhere ... including places like Best Buy, Target, Walmart and even the dollar store.
The adulteration of essential oils is rampant, wild and everywhere. Experts estimate that 80% of commercially available “pure” essential oils are adulterated in some way.
Once you start paying attention to the multiple companies selling essential oils that are labeled "100% pure", it's hard to trust what is in fact pure!
EVERY BOTTLE TELLS A STORY
The way that doTERRA sources its oil is actually the most expensive way to do it… but it’s the right way. They source globally where the plants are meant to grow + thrive.
Sourcing from around the world is very important to the quality of the oil because of the soil + environment. Not only are doTERRA oils sourced sustainably using a global network of growers, these partnerships also stimulate local economies all over the world.
doTERRA empowers on both sides of the bottle.
countries—more than half of which could be considered developing countries. To ensure that small scale farmers and harvesters in disadvantaged areas are treated ethically, doTERRA has introduced an initiative called Co-Impact Sourcing.
Co-Impact Sourcing creates shared value for all stakeholders in the supply chain by being at the source and intentionally implementing environmental stewardship and/or social impact initiatives.
while creating sustainable jobs and providing reliable income in underdeveloped areas.
doTERRA is committed to the ethical treatment of its suppliers by providing on-time payments at fair prices.
Growers and harvesters are encouraged to form cooperative groups to share collective benefits and bargaining power while improving skills and capacity.
CO-IMPACT SOURCING PRINCIPLES:
1. Generating Jobs: Reduce poverty by creating and sustaining jobs
including prepayments
training and financial support
distillers based on solidarity and respect
free from harassment and discrimination
producers to join and form co-operatives
renewable energy, and waste minimization
sourcing communities such as schools, health clinics, training facilities, and clean
water systems
doTERRA takes pride in sourcing the most pure, potent,
and effective essential oils in environmentally
and socially responsibly ways.
and effective essential oils in environmentally
and socially responsibly ways.
doTERRA offers you a level of transparency that is rare in the essential oil industry. Their model is called Source to You. Here, on the website www.sourcetoyou.com, you can scan your doTERRA bottle to see exactly where it was grown and the most recent quality testing report on the oil.
doTERRA is not only the largest + most trusted essential
oil company in the world. They’re also the most transparent.
PURITY, POTENCY & CONSISTENCY
Purity + potency are the two key factors that differentiate doTERRA from any other oil
doTERRA oils are pure plant derivatives: containing no pesticides or fillers and have the highest quality testing. Each oil goes through a total of 54 different quality tests through the 3rd party lab APRC as well as in doTERRA’s testing lab. This ensures that nothing but pure plant is in the bottle when it reaches you.
company. So many companies are selling essential oils today, because of the attention doTERRA has brought. There is no governing body that oversees the essential oil industry, so companies can put whatever they want in the bottles to make it smell a certain way.
They can put whatever they want on the label and call it pure.
3RD PARTY TESTING
The final tests results that you find on Source to You are from our 3rd party testing lab APRC. The Aromatic Plant Research Center (APRC) is a state-of-the-art laboratory that utilizes a variety of methods to detect adulteration and confirm the purity of essential oils.
expertise within the essential oil industry. APRC aspires to reimagine the essential oil industry by conducting state-of-the-art quality testing, performing groundbreaking research, producing cutting edge publications, and creating unparalleled educational materials on essential oils.
Their goal is to ensure that their clients have access to the most sophisticated and verified means of testing possible. This process includes compiling existing publications, interviewing experienced producers, conducting field research, gathering raw materials, improving distillation methods, advancing testing capabilities, discovering new chemotypes, developing new therapeutic uses, and so forth.
This is who doTERRA works with. Research conductors leading
the future of essential oils and healthcare.
HUMANITARIAN IMPACT
From the beginning, doTERRA wanted to be more than a business. “There are givers and there are takers,” said David Stirling, doTERRA Founding Executive, CEO. “We wanted doTERRA to be a giver.”
To accomplish that, the doTERRA Healing Hands Foundation® was created—a nonprofit that helps support community development projects in sourcing communities.
These kinds of projects include funding for and building of schools, health clinics, training facilities, and cleanwater systems.
The doTERRA Healing Hands Foundation also partners with a variety of other organizations to support disaster relief; anti-human trafficking prevention, rescue, and rehabilitation; micro-loan programs; and feminine hygiene education.
doTERRA generously donates to cover all administrative costs of the foundation so that 100% of all donations go directly to aid. When you partner with the doTERRA Healing Hands Foundation, your donation could save a child from human trafficking, repair a home devastated by a natural disaster, or help provide someone with access to healthcare.
Learn more about the Healing Hands Foundation here:
CUTTING-EDGE RESEARCH
As a leader in the essential oil industry, doTERRA invests in research and testing to remain at the forefront of essential oil science. Through partnerships with research facilities, hospitals, and universities, we’re learning more about the therapeutic potential of essential oils.
effective essential oils,” said Dr. David Hill, doTERRA Founding Executive, Scientific and Healthcare Initiatives.
“These studies are a demonstration of our leadership in essential oil scientific advances, as well as our commitment to ensuring safe and powerful outcomes for
families and individuals using doTERRA essential oils.”SCIENCE AND RESEARCH
doTERRA is working to change the landscape of healthcare. Collaborating with many of the top universities and independent facilities in the world, doTERRA is at the forefront of essential oil clinical research.