So, I recently expressed my irritation (emotional, not physical) with the Origins Modern Friction scrub. Another sample I got on the same trip was a moisturizer that made me break out. So I started searching around online to get ingredients lists. Guess what? They’re nowhere to be found…
That’s Odd: When shopping online, most major retailers have ingredient lists available. It’s commonplace on Sephora and Beauty.com’s websites. However, the Origins products listed on their websites don’t have complete ingredient lists. Origins items on Sephora.com do have a list of select ingredients, explaining what they do for the product. (Those aren’t the ones I’m concerned about.) Even the Origins website has no ingredients listed for the products – not even “select” ingredients, unless you count the “Ingredient Gallery”.
I Thought I Should Ask: Not wanting to assume they were intentionally trying to hide their ingredients lists, I reached out to Origins on their Facebook page with this question: “Is there someplace (online) I can get a COMPLETE list of ingredients for Origins products? I prefer to shop online, but can’t find anywhere with complete ingredients listings, so I can make sure to avoid things that are problematic for my skin.”
Their Reply: “Hi Bridgett–Our Origins Global Consumer Care Team will be happy to provide you with the most current list of ingredients for our products. Simply call us at 1-800-ORIGINS (1-800-674-4467) option #4 between the hours of 9 am-5pm (EST) Monday- Friday or via email anytime at consumercare-us@gcc.origins.com. We’ll be in touch to assist.”
What the… It’s 2014. Why do I have to call or e-mail someone to get information I should be able to get online when I’m shopping for the products?
For the Sake of Convenience: I went back to the Origins store – since I was already in the area – wanting to see what ingredients were in the samples I received. The moisturizer in question was also labeled with the wrong product name, making it even harder to figure out what I was putting on my face. (The offender was glycerin, by the way.) When the store associate saw me picking up and reading a bunch of different containers, she asked if she could help. I explained the predicament and she was very annoyed, saying the Origins website used to have complete ingredients lists available and she had been telling customers they could go there to get them!
I Guess I Shouldn’t Complain: The samples were free. The store associates are always helpful and generous with the freebies. But I honestly wouldn’t have put a moisturizer containing glycerin on my skin, because I know it clogs my pores and causes blemishes.
But… People shopping online should be able to see the ingredients (and country of origin, in my opinion) for the products they’re buying. It definitely doesn’t look good when you’re one of very few companies who doesn’t share this information freely with your online-shopping customers. Even stranger that you expect them to call during business hours or e-mail and wait for a response to get the information. Not cool, Origins.