Melalueca?

[Masih_Mama]

How does Melalueca work anyway, is it a mlm company? I know people who "do" Melalueca, but I don't know what it is they do with it...? Except that they want to talk to me about how Melelueca has changed their lives, and now they make so much money.

I finally submitted to a friend of mine because I feel I "owe her one", and agreed to listen to a 20 minute informational phone call this afternoon.

Before that happens I wanted to know a couple of things that I think they may not exactly be forthcoming about...
1) Are their products really all natural? If not, what proof is there?
2) Can I just purchase their products without any other obligations?

I appreciate any feedback you can give me on this.

[Perogi]

The products are not all natural, they are naturally based and non-toxic. They do use a lot of natural ingredients. You can purchase the products without obligation but they are rather expensive. You sign up for a membership to get the reasonable prices which commits you to a certain amount of monthly purchasing.

I've been using the products a few months now and I really love everything I have tried - and I've tried a lot!!! There are a lot of ways that you can "try it out" and bail (the membership is always something you can cancel without charge) if you're not happy.

[alwayslearning2]

is there a way to find out the ingredients?

I purchased some of their products last month because I was sick of using viniger and baking soda and just not feeling like the bathroom was disinfected ( and the lingering niniger smell) I do wonder what exactly is in the products, do you know if there is a way to find out the exact ingredients? I might keep gping untill I have a decent stockpile, but so far I do think they work pretty well.

[Masih_Mama]

Originally Posted by Perogi

I've been using the products a few months now and I really love everything I have tried - and I've tried a lot!!! There are a lot of ways that you can "try it out" and bail (the membership is always something you can cancel without charge) if you're not happy.

Thanks for the info! I think I will get a catalog and try a few things out.

[Masih_Mama]

Originally Posted by alwayslearning2

I do wonder what exactly is in the products, do you know if there is a way to find out the exact ingredients? l.

I'd just ask. I'll post here if I find out, and could you do the same?

Thanks!

[Siennaflower]

I use Melaleuca products. Its basically my compromise for dh since he can't stand the smell of vinegar (even after it dries and I can't smell it he can, he has a VERY sensitive nose) and I refuse to use the toxic commercial stuff. My favorite products are their kitchen cleaner (Tough and Tender) and their floor cleaner (Mela Magic I think). I also use their dish soap, shower cleaner, dishwasher and laundry detergents, and while they aren't my favorites they get the job done. They are a bit expensive upfront but they are all very concentrated and the bottles you get will last you quite a while. A friend of mine and I split the monthly requirement for purchases and it works out well. Oh and their soy candles are just yummy!

[Masih_Mama]

Originally Posted by FlutterBee

A friend of mine and I split the monthly requirement for purchases and it works out well.

That's a great idea! I'm going to see if my neighbor is interested in splitting it with me.

Thanks!

[alwayslearning2]

ingredients

OK here are the ingredients they would give me:

Koala Pals hand wash

coconut
oat (YIKES ds has an oat allergy, glad I found this out!)
fruit ( not specific)
vit E
alow vera

they would not give nay info on the cleaning products, which is what I really wanted to know.

THe antibacterial hand wash has

glycerin
trilocen (sp)
sodium coconut sulfite ( I don't know if it is naturally derived or not)
mela oil
vit e
cirtic acid
sea salt
polyquaternium 10 (not natural at all)
glycole sterate
potassium sorbate
and....
buytel, methyl and ethyl mercury,

[Masih_Mama]

Originally Posted by alwayslearning2

they would not give nay info on the cleaning products, which is what I really wanted to know.

THe antibacterial hand wash has

glycerin
trilocen (sp)
sodium coconut sulfite ( I don't know if it is naturally derived or not)
mela oil
vit e
cirtic acid
sea salt
polyquaternium 10 (not natural at all)
glycole sterate
potassium sorbate
and....
buytel, methyl and ethyl mercury,

Ack! Thanks for letting me know... Now I certainly have a better idea of what to expect from them. I find it disturbing that they refuse to give an ingredient list when requested. That is a huge red flag.

[blessedwithboys]

ok, i never liked mela b4 b/c they dont fully disclose all ingredients, but do they really use Hg to preserve hand soap, and if so, why on earth do they admit to it???

[toraji]

My mom sells it and I don't think it's all that great. The ingredients lists are pretty scary, definitely not "natural" at all! Lots of preservatives and such. Their big hook is that they add tea tree oil to almost everything.

Melaleuca also does animal testing. There was a thread at another board that I visit but I can't find it now (their board got hacked and they lost a bunch of threads). But one of the posters emailed the company and they admitted that they do.

(I just googled and found this link about it: http://www.askcarla.com/answers.asp?...ndanswerID=547 )

[nikirj]

I did a membership thing for a while and am sick of it. Too much money for stuff that either I could mix in my own home, or I wouldn't want in the first place. Natural, my arse. The ingredient lists are still scary. I'd rather mix my own. I think I'm going to miss the dishwasher detergent but nothing else (their laundry detergent is worthless IMO, doesn't work at all).

[LazureFairie]

Just to chime in here--I am a customer and "business builder" with Melaleuca, I use many of their products obviously but not all of them. Just to clarify about the animal testing, it is not the kind of animal testing that P & G does where they blind, main and kill puppies, bunnies & kittens. Frank V. Melaleuca's company president and ceo did "test" their pet shampoo on his own dogs to be sure the product worked well enough to market it and they are not admitted to the vegan safe PETA list because of that. Personally I do not have a problem with that kind of "animal testing", and do not agree with PETA's scare-tactics agenda anyway.
I find that all of Melaleuca's products to be very effective, and have yet to find a natural laundry detergent that works as well as MelaPower and I can use only one ounce to clean an entire large capacity wash load.
But I didn't chime in here to convince those of you who have decided not to make the monthly commitment to do so--there are alternatives: If you would like to purchase a Melaleuca cleaning product now and then at the Preferred prices, I suggest you take a look at ebay. Several Marketing Execs are offering "gift certificates" on ebay, no commitment, no sign up fee, no calls, no pressure to build an organization--buy what you like, when you like, get the Preferred Price and use paypal to pay--products are shipped to you. Just thought I'd let you all know.

[GiraffeLovin'Mama]

I was a mela member :LOL for a year. Their products were okay, then I learned they're not All natural, as claimed :
Then I won't tell you all the troubles I had with them when I sent in to cancel my membership and they wouldn't cancel my autoship.

[apmama]

Hmmm, it definitely bugs me to see that list of ingredients. And to hear that they wouldn't disclose the rest. I agree, big red flags there.

[kaydee]

Originally Posted by LazureFairie

Just to chime in here--I am a customer and "business builder" with Melaleuca, I use many of their products obviously but not all of them. Just to clarify about the animal testing, it is not the kind of animal testing that P & G does where they blind, main and kill puppies, bunnies & kittens. Frank V. Melaleuca's company president and ceo did "test" their pet shampoo on his own dogs to be sure the product worked well enough to market it and they are not admitted to the vegan safe PETA list because of that. Personally I do not have a problem with that kind of "animal testing",

It seems like they engaged in testing a bit more invasive than shampooing dogs. It's also unclear to me where exactly they stand now re: testing. From toraji's link to PETA (I added the bold):

We removeed Melaleuca from our list of companies that do not test on animals after learning that it commissioned two animal tests that were not required by law. In 1996, during the course of litigation with a competing company, Melaleuca commissioned a lethal-dose test on the competitor’s product. The test resulted in the agonizing deaths of 10 rats. In 1997, we learned that Melaleuca had commissioned experiments on dogs for its nutritional product Provex CV....

It seems that every consumer we speak to has heard a different story from Melaleuca about its removal from our “don’t test” list. One common accusation is that we removed the company from the list for washing its employees’ companion animals with dog shampoo. This is not accurate. Using animals in laboratory settings to test products for safety and trying out a product that has already been proved safe through non-animal testing methods on one’s companion animal are two entirely different situations. We would not take issue with the latter scenario, which does not involve harming animals....

It is important to note that Melaleuca used animals for tests while it was included on PETA’s cruelty-free list—after signing our statement of assurance, which indicates that the company will never test on animals, in 1993. Obviously, Melaleuca is willing to make exceptions to its “no animal testing” policy whenever it deems it necessary....

In a March 2003 letter, Melaleuca freeely admits that it commissioned laboratory tests in which rats and dogs were used, stating, “The rats died a horrible death. … Prior to performing human studies to prove Provex CV’s effectiveness, Melaleuca commissioned that the product be tested on dogs first. … In our quest to save life, we refuse to tell PETA that we will never again test our cardiovascular products on animals.”

Whatever one thinks of PETA (and I have issues with them myself) this seems damning to me.

[WAHMinVA]

Animal testing and Melaleuca

I have read Melaleuca's stance on animal testing and while they do not engage in regular testing of animals they feel that if they have a product that could potentially save thousands of lives and they are REQUIRED to test on animals before allowing humans to use it then they will. As far as I know it's only been done once and I don't find that extreme at all.

[kaydee]

Originally Posted by WAHMinVA

I have read Melaleuca's stance on animal testing and while they do not engage in regular testing of animals they feel that if they have a product that could potentially save thousands of lives and they are REQUIRED to test on animals before allowing humans to use it then they will. As far as I know it's only been done once and I don't find that extreme at all.

In the US, the FDA does not require that personal care or cosmetics products be tested on animals; only drugs undergoing FDA approval must involve animal tests, AFAIK. What does Meleleuca sell that would require animal testing? I am not familiar with their product line, but I thought it was mostly beauty products.

And according to PETAs documents, they tested invasively on animals at least twice (while having pledged not to and allowing themselves to benefit from appearing on PETA's "no animal testing" list). The deception seems unethical to me, along with the testing.

[WAHMinVA]

Melaleuca has a number of nutritional supplements and they developed one called Provex CV (which has been patented and proven to work). They enlisted the help of the DR. who discovered that an aspirin a day can help people with cardiovascular disease prevention. Provex CV delivers the same benefits without the risk associated with aspirin and the university that the Dr. works with is who required them to test on 10 dogs before putting out the supplement.
I have read what PETA said about the 2nd incident but have not asked Melaleuca about it so I don't know if it's true. If it is then I definitely think they made a very bad decision but it involved a court case with another company that uses toxic chemicals in their products. Like I said I haven't discussed it with Melaleuca so I don't know if it's true or why it was done.

[sli124]

My mom sold Melalueca for a few years, I liked the products ok, I wasn't real keen on the smell of most of them though.

She now sells shaklee www.shaklee.com which sells the same way, you need a membership or you buy it from a member.

Shaklee is also all for all natural products I like most of their cleaning products and mom takes a lot of their vitimins, she's been selling it for over 10 years now.