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Blog: Derived From (August 13, 2015)The word "natural" used on a product label is ubiquitous these days, producers want consumers to think their products are natural because they believe you value and desire that quality. The list of ingredients typically includes at least one item with a chemical name like sodium lauryl sulfate that is claimed to be derived from some recognizable plant like coconut. These producers are counting on your having not studied chemistry. The root word derive means to obtain a chemical substance actually or theoretically from a parent substance. Plastic is made from petroleum, so we could say plastic is derived from petroleum. We could further claim that because petroleum is natural that therefore plastic is natural. Do you agree with this statement? Manufactured substances are always made from other substances, and ultimately from substances that occur on this planet naturally. Truly natural substances are not manufactured. It's a useful rule of thumb to assume that the phrase "derived from" qualifies a substance that is NOT natural. Keep on reading those ingredient lists! |
