Self-made successful entrepreneur pursuing legislation to end green washing
What began as a mom’s personal quest to find safe baby skin care products has become an all-out effort to educate consumers and offer transparency on ingredients.
After reading the labels on her children’s baby-care products an “outraged” Jessica Iclisoy started California Baby, the first line of 100 percent plant-based baby products free of harmful chemicals, with only $2,000.
Twenty years later, it has grown into a multi-million dollar business and she is on a new mission to pass legislation that defines the term “natural.” She collaborated with the Natural Advisory Council (NAC), whose goal is to educate consumers on making safe choices and provide more clarity within the industry, according the company website.
“The market has grown and when the market grows there is an opportunity for green washing,” Iclisoy said during an appearance of FOX Business’ “Mornings with Maria” on Wednesday.
Green washing is when companies make claims that their products are actually more natural than what they really are. In other words, products may be riddled with unhealthy ingredients. Iclisoy attributed her “mama bear” instinct as motivation.
“You can walk into a health food store and take control of your own health and I don’t want that to go away,” she said.
“I want everybody to have that opportunity and I want them to be able to walk into the store and when something says it’s natural, it truly is natural, not something that has synthetic fragrances, which in my belief has no business being in a natural product.”
Although the Food and Drug Administration has not formally defined the term “natural,” the NAC states that it is “important to all natural products be subjected to a rigorous set of standards as to what is considered natural,” the website said.