What Does Certified Therapeutic Grade Essential Oil Mean?
If only the words “Certified Therapeutic Grade” was all we needed to see on an essential oil bottle to know we were buying an assured quality of essential oil. Not only is this not the case, but it has become very unusual to NOT see these words/ So what does it mean. “Absolutely nothing”. It’s part of a hugely successful marketing strategy.
Those words, Certified Therapeutic Grade, is a Trademark of DoTerra and their Multilevel Marketing (MLM) business model. When MLM is done well, the founders and first adopters often become millionaires. However, it is said, “…that manufacturers choose this method of selling because …it allows them to sell a product that could not compete in the open marketplace, at least not at those prices…” I fully concur.
There is no doubt that you will find DoTerra products priced significantly higher than similar quality products.
Thankfully there are many other companies (including Naturra) where you can obtain similar high-quality essential oils at more cost-effective prices.
HOW CAN I BE SURE I AM BUYING A HIGH QUALITY PURE ESSENTIAL OIL?
There is no “absolute” test or guidance I can give you to help you guarantee you are buying a high-quality essential oil. It really is about a company’s ethics.
Despite the fact that DoTerra uses the words “Certified Therapeutic Grade”, there is no main certifying body establishing standards for individual essential oils. It is accepted that ISO and AFNOR provide specifications for ‘industries to use as a guide to essential oil compositions so that new batches could be recognized
What has been interesting to see over the past 10 years, is that once companies such as Doterra started to establish themselves at the high-end of the market. They opened up the market to cheap” and poor quality products, almost as a counter-balance.
For the most part, buyers responded by sticking to the long-established companies such as Neals Yard and Baldwins, local suppliers or from Chemists. We at Naturra source our oils (for our aromatherapy practice and for sale online) from suppliers to the trade and sometimes directly from a grower.
There are various bodies such as ATC (Aromatherapy Trade Council) that many essential oil suppliers join as a means of establishing their professionalism and credibility. This gives you some surety, but not all members deal in oils of the highest quality, However, that said, the highest quality essential oils are not always necessary, especially when you are using that oil for products such as candles, bath bombs etc. What you can be sure of is that these companies adopt the best practices.
Now, I know when I also say that, there are also exceptional oil suppliers who are not members of the ATC, this doesn’t help you to know where to get the best essentials but that is the nature of the industry and where Naturra comes in. We use our knowledge of these credible suppliers to the aromatherapy trade to bring the same quality oils used by the aromatherapy trade to the home enthusiasts or anyone wanting quality essential oils they can trust.
Whilst I am not that keen on DoTerra’s MLM approach to essential oils, I give them full credit for improving the knowledge and the use of essential oils, by the average person which all suppliers of essential oils benefit from.
I personally do not want to see the industry regulated with a certified body as I feel it would increase the price of oils, which would in turn and t his affect supply and eventually the availability of the range of oils that are currently widely available.
What was your approach to finding a trusted supplier?
