Wiping "chemical-free" off the marketing map
Scientists and journalists join forces to name and shame the marketers who use the nonsensical phrase "chemical-free", and come up with better options.
- A poorly-worded ad for sunscreen and bug spray sparks the usual eye-rolling among chemistry-friendly folks on Twitter.
chemical free sunscreen is available for the scorcher at #NOS2011. Sigh. (witherspoon st in princeton) Cc @deborahblum http://campl.us/bmnl
Right down the street RT @carmendrahl: chemical free sunscreen. Sigh. (witherspoon st in princeton) http://campl.us/bmnl
@carmendrahl @deborahblum I walk past that "chemical free" sign-post everyday and it drives me nuts!But this particular picture attracted the attention of enterprising Knight Science Journalism Fellow Mary Carmichael, a regular contributor to Newsweek. Mary decided to create a photo blog designed for "naming and shaming the marketers" who use the meaningless phrase chemical-free.
.@leonidkruglyak @carmendrahl Let's start a Tumblr featuring (1) pics of items marketed as "chemical-free" and (2) items' ingredient lists.- New project: shame "chemical-free" out of existence. http://fnochemicalfree.tumblr.com @DrRubidium @leonidkruglyak @carmendrahl @deborahblum
F No, "Chemical Free!""With this sustainable hand soap you don't have to worry about any chemicals." Related: If the soap is "sustainable," does that mean it will never run out? Hurrah! @easternblot at Nature tells the heartening story of how a couple of undergrads may have convinced Duvel to stop describing its delicious product as "chemical-free."Award-winning writer Ed Yong of Discover Blogs learns about Mary's Tumblr and tweets about a chemical terminology pet peeve of his own. He's humorously seconded by former C&EN intern Raychelle Burks (@DrRubidium on Twitter), now Editor-in-Commandant of science humor site The JAYFK.
@mary_carmichael @DrRubidium @leonidkruglyak @carmendrahl @deborahblum Related: reclaim "organic" for carbon atoms, not hippie crapPulitzer-Prizewinning author Deborah Blum, a pioneer of the crusade against "chemical-free", asked whether she could use the offending photo in a blog post. The perfect posting opportunity for Blum came just days later, when the New York Times published an article mentioning "chemical-free" mineral makeup. Tipped off to the Times piece by Princeton professor Leonid Kruglyak, Blum sprang into blogging action. And Carmichael, Kruglyak, and Burks write letters to the Times to protest the scientifically-incorrect wording.
@carmendrahl I'm thinking I could use your photo to kick off a series if I'm lucky. Photos + rants - what could be better? MANY thanks.- NYT SundayStyles: "Bare Escentuals, a line of chemical-free mineral powders" http://nyti.ms/myQ2GX @mary_carmichael @DrRubidium @carmendrahl
Chemical Free Crazies | Speakeasy Science"Did you just hit yourself in the face with the newspaper?" my husband asked me. We were sharing a quiet moment (teenage sons yet asleep) with coffee, a dozing labrador, and the Sunday New York Times. Quiet, anyway, until the thwacking sound.- @leonidkruglyak @DrRubidium @carmendrahl If one of you doesn't write the tartly worded letter to the NYT, I will.
- @leonidkruglyak @DrRubidium @mary_carmichael So glad to hear that you'll be writing to the NYT about today's chemical-free story.
- More chemistry journalists rally behind the anti-chemical free cause.
- #ff players in the campaign against "chemical-free" @DrRubidium @deborahblum @mary_carmichael @sciencegeist @leonidkruglyak - who else?
@carmendrahl @DrRubidium @deborahblum @mary_carmichael @sciencegeist @leonidkruglyak You have my anti-chemical-free support!Freelance journalist Jill U. Adams (a contributor to Science, Nature, LA Times, and more) notes that journalists need a phrase that's a short and snappy as "chemical-free", but that's more scientifically accurate.
