I thought we had cleared up this misconception years ago, however, it seems there are a number of essential oil purveyors claiming to carry essential oils that are specifically certified as therapeutic grade by the FDA and show this seal below as proof. Don’t be fooled. They are not telling the truth. In reverse order, this is one path to their deception.
This last trademark has been registered (as a word mark) by DoTERRA Holdings, LLC, 370 W. Center Street, Orem, UT 84057. Filed on March 4, 2009, published for opposition on July 1, 2009 and official registration granted on October 6, 2009. This registration has the disclaimer, “No claim is made to the exclusive right to use ‘certified pure therapeutic grade’ apart from the mark as shown.
A third trademark has been registered (as a word mark) CPTG Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade also by DoTERRA Holdings, LLC, 370 W. Center Street, Orem, UT 84057. Filed on March 4, 2009, published for opposition on July 14, 2009 and official registration granted on September 29, 2009. This registration also has the disclaimer, “No claim is made to the exclusive right to use ‘certified pure therapeutic grade’ apart from the mark as shown”. There is a long list of products shown to be associated with this word mark.
A second trademark has been registered (as a word mark) CPTG also by DoTERRA Holdings, LLC, 370 W. Center Street, Orem, UT 84057. Filed on March 31, 2008, published for opposition on June 10, 2008 and official registration granted on May 9, 2009.
A first trademark has been registered (as a word mark) CPTG also by DoTERRA Holdings, LLC, 1145 South 800 East, Ste. 134, Orem, UT 84057. Filed on March 31, 2008, published for opposition on June 10, 2008 and official registration granted on May 9, 2009. Under the trademark registration, they show application to the following products: Essential oils; Essential oils for household use; Essential oils for personal use; Lavender oil; Massage oil; Massage oils; Natural essential oils; Aromatherapy oils; Bath oils; Body oils; Cosmetic oils; Cosmetic oils for the epidermis; Essential oils for flavoring beverages; Essential oils for food flavorings; Essential oils for use in manufacturing of gelcaps and other dietary supplements; Essential oils for use in the manufacture of scented products; Oils for cleaning purposes; Oils for toiletry purposes; Skin and body topical lotions, creams and oils for cosmetic use; Food flavorings prepared from essential oils; Oils for perfumes and scents; Peppermint oil; Perfume oils; Tanning oils.
DoTERRA, LLC is yet another multi-level marketing natural products company based in Utah who has applied through the U.S. Patent Office to “own” (exclusive use) a registered word mark. This registered word mark has not been provided to them by the FDA as they claim and is meaningless in proving that an outside certifying body has declared or designated that DoTERRA’s essential oils are certified pure therapeutic grade. DoTERRA, LLC owns the right to exclusive use of the mark (however not the exclusive right to the actual words “Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade” which is revealing) This seal or word mark is nothing more than a commercial trademark that they have registered and paid a fee for. However, DoTERRA is purposefully misinforming potential customers and down liners by email by claiming FDA approval and that the FDA has provided them with the label that they, themselves registered and own. The FDA does NOT certify the quality of essential oils by therapeutic grade and they do not provide a certifying label as claimed. Following is an email from DoTERRA sent to a potential customer:
———- Forwarded message ———-
From: d?TERRA Member Service <service@doterra.com>
Date: Mon, Nov 16, 2009 at 5:01 PM
Subject:
To: Recipient Name and Email Removed for Privacy
Dear Recipient Name Removed for Privacy,
We apologize if one of our consultants has mislead you in anyway (sic). All of our oils are FDA approved as being Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade (CPTG). DoTERRA’s, CPTG essential oils are 100% pure natural aromatic compounds carefully extracted from plants. They do not contain fillers or artificial ingredients that would dilute their active qualities and are free of contaminants such as pesticides or other chemical residues. All of our products are taken through a series of tests including AFNOR and ISO standards for purity, and all of our manufactures must maintain a GMP certification. Therefore, we are passing government regulations. The FDA has provided us with the label of CPTG. We hope we have resolved your concern.
Member Services
doTERRA International, LLC
370 West Center Street
Orem, Ut 84057
800-411-8151
service@doterra.com
Clearly this company is misleading people by claiming that they have a designation and approval provided to them by the FDA that in my expert opinion simply does not exist. Stay tuned for part II of this series which will focus on FDA regulations that actually apply to essential oils and the part III will provide you with questions to ask a supplier that will ascertain their knowledge of essential oils and expertise in the industry.
We at Samara Botane and many others in the essential oil trade have are dismayed about the misrepresentation of facts surrounding essential oils that occurs here in the United States, especially within the multi-level marketing industry. We encourage people to diligently research any essential oil company before choosing them as a supplier.
Marcia Elston
Samara Botane/Nature Intelligence
http://www.wingedseed.com
Please feel free to repost this entire message in its entirety, unedited, on your blog as well as social media outlets and newsgroups.
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[...] more here: One More Time: There Are No FDA Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade Essential Oils, Part I Leave a [...]
My name is Mark Wolfert. I am General Counsel for d?TERRA. I appreciate this opportunity to clarify some misunderstandings.
d?TERRA does not claim that the FDA, AFNOR or ISO has certified, registered or somehow approved its essential oils. Although AFNOR and the ISO have monograph standards for certain plant extracts in different industries, it is my understanding that they do not have standards for grades of essential oils. In fact, there are no current regulatory standards for the use of the descriptor “therapeutic grade” in the industry. Anyone can use the term to describe their essential oils regardless of their purity or potency.
“CPTG®” and “CPTG – Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade®” are terms that d?TERRA has trademarked. As such, the words shown together are registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), meaning the words in that phrase are registered, not the oils. Another example is Visa Card’s registered trademark: “Bring Home the Gold.” No one should mistake d?TERRA’s registered intellectual property right as somehow a registration of the essential oils.
As set forth in instructional materials for d?TERRA’s distributor’s:
“d?TERRA’s CPTG Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade® quality standard is more rigorous, yet very different in nature and function than the ISO monographs for aromatic extracts. This statement, however, should not be interpreted that AFNOR or the ISO has a standard for “therapeutic grade” essential oils or that any essential oil product has AFNOR or ISO certification or approval. They do not certify brands nor do they grade essential oils as therapeutic, grade-A, premium, etc. The ISO monographs for essential oils are not comparable nor serve the same quality control function as the d?TERRA CPTG standard.”
….continuing with d?TERRA’s official statement:
“Please do not promulgate any claims involving AFNOR and ISO standards for essential oil quality grades–there are none. And please take the opportunity to educate your friends and customers about AFNOR and ISO when you are asked the question if d?TERRA oils meet their standards for quality grades.”
….continuing:
“The absence of regulatory standards regarding the use of the terms ‘essential oil’ and ‘therapeutic grade’ are the very reason for developing a higher standard of quality control we have branded CPTG Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade®. Although there are good essential oils available to consumers, many products claiming to be essential oils often are not pure aromatic extracts and often contain fillers and non-aromatic compounds. The d?TERRA name and CPTG registered trademark represent our guarantee of 100% pure essential oil extracts and accurate product labeling.”
….the end of the statement says:
“Part of our mission at d?TERRA is to be a leader and educator in the essential oil industry. We look forward to working with other responsible industry leaders and standard setting bodies to establish high standards for products labeled as pure essential oils. In the mean time, the d?TERRA name and CPTG registered trademark will continue to reflect our unyielding effort to provide you with the safest, purest, and most potent essential oil products available to consumers today.”
I hope this helps to clarify doTERRA’s official position on the matter. In summary, d?TERRA has not and does not claim any certification, registration or approval of its essential oils by the FDA, AFNOR, ISO, or any other regulatory body. We do believe that the CTPG standard supports d?TERRA’s effort to bring to market only the most pure essential oils.
Thank you.
Mark A. Wolfert
Mr. Wolfert, perhaps we need to clarify proper accuracy of the English language. “All of our oils are FDA approved as being Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade (CPTG).”, quoting from the email sent directly from service@doterra.com, clearly refutes your attempt to ascertain that DoTerra is NOT making false claims. If the company is truly remiss and wants to clarify, they should put a disclaimer and apology on their website. They should stop using the misleading certification standard altogether if they wish to regain credibility. Anytime the word “certified” is used, it is assumed that the proclaimed certification comes from a government agency (i.e., FDA) or officially recognized independent body. It is absurd to think that a company can certify themselves, although we see this absurdity, generally amongst multi-level marketing companies especially those dealing in essential oils. To use the word “certified” in DoTerra’s registered mark is a branding of their oils which appears to convey intentionally misleading information about certification processes. You state that DoTerra also does not claim AFNOR or ISO certification. Most in the essential oil trade regard AFNOR (Association French Normalization Organization Regulation) standards regarding essential oils as relatively useless and applying to oils produced in France. Additionally, there is no such thing as AFNOR essential oil certification. ISO (International Standards Organization) also does not certify, but has an essential oil technical committee (TC 54) who will be meeting in China this year to continue their work of, “development of specific monographs for quality standardization of every essential oil; standardization of analytical methods to control essential oils quality; requirements for transport, labelling and marking; nomenclature, botanical names, etc., and revision work.” You will see that acting as a certification body is also not in their purview. Neither organization uses the term “therapeutic” in their monographs or standards for essential oils.
Additionally, Dr. David K. Hill, D.C., prominently featured on the DoTerra website, and who is identified as “a pioneering expert and dynamic leader in the field of integrative medicine with international acknowledgements (sic). His lecture, research and practice, incorporate Eastern and Western medical practices with emphasis on the use of essential oils. Dr. Hill has authored and published a number of very successful books, pamphlets and brochures and is a popular guest for radio and television. He maintains a high level profile in his field of expertise and is routinely invited to teach and work with other experts in academia, research and medical disciplines.” Strange, if you Google Dr. David K. Hill, D.C. Utah, you won’t find academic articles or information about his work with other experts and international lectures. In fact, what is most prominent is that he is named in a legal complaint in the District Court of Utah in 2005 when Dr. Hill was the managing director of the Young Life Clinic. This lawsuit was settled for an undisclosed sum. At the time of filing, Young moved his clinic to Ecuador, the assumption being to avoid prosecution. You can see this document at http://www.casewatch.org/mal/younglife.shtml.
DoTerra states that it is aiming to be “a leader in the essential oil industry . . . looking forward to working with other responsible industry leaders and standard setting bodies to establish high standards for products labeled as pure essential oils.” There are long established entities working towards publishing accurate monographs and identifying compositional standards that would apply to essential oils. What DoTerra should be more concerned with are recommendations of “direct” (which is presumed to be undiluted) skin application and “internal” use of essential oils that might not have G.R.A.S. designation. If they were spending more time on safe usage and less on misleading certification standards, they would stand a better chance of working with “responsible” industry leaders.
Thanks for stopping by, Mr. Wolfert, it has been my pleasure to respond.
Marcia Elston
Thank you, Marcia!!! A friend asked me just this morning about the “Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade” oils she had seen, and my first question was “Certified by whom?” Mr. Wolfert may be correct in saying that the phrase is trademarked, and not to be interpreted that the OILS are certified by anyone, but the so-called “average user” is not going to know that. They are going to assume, wrongfully, that SOME official body has certified that DoTerra has the world’s most perfect oils. Somewhere on TV I saw the phrase “puffery”… Shame on any organization who has to stoop to such deliberately misleading marketing tactics to sell their product. Obviously the truth isn’t enough, some folks have to embellish and mislead.
The sad thing is, there are people who will fall for the puffery.
Well said, Marcia. I sell essential oils and I am so tired of people with their “therapeutic grade” and purity labels when they have absolutely no evidence of a sort. Recently, I was on Facebook where a gentleman leveled that he buys from only one source because all the essential oils in stores are adultrated. Hate to say this, but many people don’t bother checking things out. They hear the right lingo and they put doctors and other so-called professionals. Having had so many people I know try to suck me into one MLM scheme or another, I know well their basic set up. They patent these phrases and whatnot, but actually, the emphasis is on bringing people in, not quality. Anyone can slap a patented label on an oil, but I sincerely doubt that they’ve done any kind of real research into the oils they sell. Sounds like they’re trying to elbow in on Young Living territory. Most people who set up MLMs are about money, they amble from one idea to the next. The get a few know-it-alls to back them up, if they’re that lucky, and they sucker people in with making money. I have a friend suckered into this Juice Plus stuff and the fluff she spouts about it. Anything to sell a product. When you research most of their claims they’re chocked full of misstatements, fabrications and outright lies. They haven’t done nearly the amount of research they claimed to have, they just put a lot of money into making the videos and charts. I’m sick of it all.
Some are even showing that DoTERRA is an off shoot of Young Living essential oils. And we all know how bad they are. I also want to thank you Marcia for putting this info out there. It is much needed.
I love the essential oils that I have been using. Yes, I bought them from doTerra, and have really liked them. The gal I got them from didn’t once claim FDA approval – just a high quality grade that they certify internally
You state: “We encourage people to diligently research any essential oil company before choosing them as a supplier”
I’m interested in knowing more about that. When you are looking at a supplier, what do you look for? Do you have a checklist that you apply when evaluating the supplier you want to use? I would be interested to learn that so I can make informed decisions of my own.
I’m surprised at how judgemental people get over MLMs, they are just people doing business like anyone else. They aren’t really any different then your insurance agents or mortgage brokers – all of which get paid for the value they offer in products and services, and by building teams.
Anyway, understanding your process for evaluating an essential oil provider would be great to know.
Thanks!
Hi AJ,
Thanks for your comments. The claims were on the DoTerra company website, as stated above, whether your distributor made such claims to you herself. It is still a misleading statement by the company itself, as I said and others commenting on this blog post. The criticism is not aimed at mlm’s specifically, however, when mlm companies teach their distributors erroneous information, it travels down the chain and is harder to correct later on. I believe all people should independently investigate for themselves, not depend on one company or teacher. The fact that so much misinformation abounds is irritating to those who have formally studied aromatherapy, using chemistry and science, not anecdotal or religious information, which most often is subjective and not based in fact. My next blog post will focus on how to evaluate a supplier of essential oils. Watch for it.