As I work to edit my Etsy shop to comply with their new policies regarding herbal products, I’ve been going through a lot of feelings. At first, I was devastated. I thought this would destroy my business. Then I went through varying feelings of elation (from all the support I’ve been getting from all of you) and wild frustration.
It’s been exhausting editing my listings – and I have had to edit some of them three or four different times. And I’ll be going back and doing ANOTHER edit this week. There’s just so much conflicting information out there – many of us are not sure quite what to do and how to change things without losing the heart of our businesses.
There have been some real jaw-droppers, too, as I’ve learned more about this policy – things that have disheartened me a lot, including the fact that we are no longer allowed to share the feedback our customers have given us if that feedback contains medical words. I have a TON of feedback from people who have said that my products have helped them with acne issues or eczema or other such things and I am so proud of those comments. I used to feature them on my product pages, but this is now forbidden, considered a second-hand medical claim.
We are also not allowed to talk about the properties of herbs, even if those properties are factual. For instance, I sell carminative seeds as a natural breath freshener. I can no longer say that they also soothe gassy stomachs, even though carminatives are a class of herbs that…soothe gassy stomachs! We are no longer allowed to say that lavender is calming to the nervous system even though it is classified as a nervine! Not to make too big a deal out of this, but it does feel a little like a witch hunt. Heaven forbid we allow citizens of the US the option to explore alternative healing (which wasn’t so “alternative” once upon a time ago).
However, I’m determined to stay positive, keep Five Seed alive, and find every nugget of goodness that can possibly come out of this. Here are just a couple of those positives:
1. Community. After a year of doing business in a somewhat isolated mode (as is easy to do when you’re an online business and have another day job outside the home), I’ve been reconnecting with my teammates over at EcoEtsy and participating in some fascinating discussions with other herbal sellers all over Etsy. The support I have found through them has been a huge relief and it helps me remember something at the cornerstone of herbalism – community. That is where the strength of herbal healing lies – sharing with and supporting everyone and anyone interested in the Old Wisdom.
I’m sorry to say that I think this aspect of herbalism has gotten lost in our capitalistic system. I never realized this until recently, but there’s a respectful and slightly suspicious distance that some of us keep from one another. In fact, of all the business owners I have connected with, almost none of them have been bath and body sellers. There is this subtle sense of competition – it’s like we’re so protective of our niche (and it’s hard to find any niche in b&b that hasn’t already been filled) that we don’t want to connect with others and potentially get lost in the massive sea of herbal businesses.
And unfortunately, there are some herbal sellers who aren’t very ethical, who search through our shops looking for information on products to create. I’ve seen many herbal sellers struggle with copycats. And finally, there are those who consider themselves the “watchdogs” and who search through shops and blogs to see what people are doing and who drop in with nasty comments and threats.
Now I’m seeing the value of pushing past all that capitalistic-, ego-driven, fear-based crap. None of this information is new. None of our products are new. There’s not much we can do to prevent ourselves from being targeted by copycats or watchdogs. So why cut ourselves off from the chance of connecting and sharing information? I think if we want to consider ourselves true keepers of plant wisdom (in whatever form we come), then we need to keep community at the top of our priority lists.
2. Integrity. It is always, always necessary to keep checking ourselves. After we’ve been in business for a while and have built a customer base, we tend to get into a rut about how we present our products. We assume we know who we’re talking to and that they know us, because, hey, we’ve been around for a couple of years. But this is a trap of sneaky complacency – sneaky in that we don’t often realize it is even happening.
This change in policy has got me thinking a lot about how I present my products. Obviously, I believe in integrity above all else as a business – integrity toward the environment and integrity with my customers. I was proud as I went through my product pages, because I felt I had been fair in how I presented them – very clear that these products are potentially helpful in the healing of certain health issues. I’m also always very clear about the fact that I created almost everything in the line for myself and used it with success – and that my successes made me want to share with others who might be dealing with the same health issues.
One of the products I’m trying to rewrite to be super clear about what it is.
However…there were a handful of new products (my skincare line) that were written in a way that might have been too easily misinterpreted by others. First of all, I was super excited about these products – as I said, I’ve been using them for a while now with great success, and if you read my upcoming e-book on skincare, you’ll know why I feel so elated about finally finding a solution for my crazy skin! This elation definitely played a part – and pride. I was so very proud of myself for finding a system that worked for me and could not wait to share it with others.
But I realized that a person’s tone is hard to identify on the internet. How are new customers supposed to know who I am or what I stand for or even what I mean by certain words if they are visiting for the first time via a product page (as opposed to my About page or storefront). Suddenly, I realized that my words in some of these listings could be easily taken out of context. Long story short (or long story long), I realized I need to remember to see myself from the perspective of that first-time customer dropping in on a product page, having no idea who I am. I need to be very clear and careful with the words I use. I thought I was doing that, of course – but this was a great way to open my eyes to the holes in my system.
I have more to say about this, but alas, I’m too busy editing my shop to write for the blog! Actually, I have some other fun projects in store, too, from my upcoming e-book to a new line of truly unique lip balms. There is lots to do, so I’d best be on my way for now.
Once more, thank you all for your support – it has truly kept me afloat through this challenging time!
Remember, you don’t HAVE to be on Etsy… you could use all those fees you pay them to start up your own online shop
@EcoGrrl: I’m doing a lot of thinking on all of that stuff!
Got some ideas, but will probably stay on Etsy for a little while longer. Even with the fees I pay there, it’s significantly cheaper than having my own website.
In some ways, it’s helpful that Etsy is helping you be in alignment with the government policies. A family I’m close to sold heathcare products, and they ended up being prosecuted for having testimonials on their website because they weren’t in compliance with the law against making medical claims. Even though it sounds like a lot of work now, it could save some potential crap-ol-a in the future.
@Melanie: Yeah, that’s definitely good – I don’t want to get into trouble! There’s an aspect of the testimonial side to it that really bums me out…but yeah, when you look at it from the perspective of that vs. prosecution…easy decision to make!
although those are all lovely positives- community is so important and it’s so awesome you are connecting with others!!- i’m still disappointed in etsy and ‘the man’…. i know you will work through this though, and i’m also very excited to see some of your new stuff!!
could you describe it in more detail with more freedom here on your blog??
@EcoYogini: I know, I feel the same way. But it is important to check myself, re: the FDA regulations. I don’t want to get in trouble, and I didn’t even realize I was approaching “the line.” Even though I think where the line is drawn is somewhat stupid, at least this will help me stay safe!
I really loved what you had to say about the community side of things. These same issues have been around for a long time. They were around when I was in herbal school over 15 years ago and they were around in similar ways when my instructor was first stating out (and she was in her late sixties to early seventies when I was taking my course work with her). I’ve never went on to open an herbal consulting business as I thought I might when i started out. I didn’t for several reasons but among them was just all the hoops and B.S. you had to jump through deal with and I thin kit’s only gotten worse. Plus I found that what I really wanted to do was help others know how to do all of it for themselves and I didn’t want cost to be an issue. So I shared things when people were interested and I still do. I had noticed back then that a lot of the people who came to me to ask questions when they knew I was an herbalist was about things on the mass market that often had herbal names or maybe a little herbs in it but were not true herbal products. That made me all the more want to help people learn for themselves the simple plants that they could grow or harvest or even get in bulk from a reputable company to use for themselves with a personal knowledge and understanding of those plants and why they were choosing them for themselves. That’s hard to do with all these even more complicated hoops to jump through – but I really hope that people that care about these things don’t give up. I’m glad to see you carrying on!
@Maurie: I never really even noticed all this stuff going on until now! LOL. It really can be a convoluted situation and so many hoops, as you said. But…when you boil it down, it really is about simple people sharing together, just like you are doing!
I feel for you…. Like a do for the “sage-femmes” (woman that used to help preggo mothers to give birth) from the past. Sometimes I feel all the knowledge human kind built over thousands of years are worth nothing in this “new world”. You know, science knows better, and if they can’t prove it it doesn’t exist…. Hang in there!
@Cul de Sac: I love that – “sage-femmes!” Beautiful! You know, I have nothing against science, but to me, it is so subjective. I can’t tell you how many times I hear something discredited because it was “probably the placebo effect.” Etc. etc. etc. It’s not as exact as it seems and therefore…I don’t see it as the be-all and end-all of facts!
But whatever…we just have to keep doing what we are doing!
I have nothing against science too (i’m going back to school in a science field) but science just can’t explain everything. It can’t explain spirituality and never will. Science is a tool and must stay that way. Give me more scientists like Hubert Reeves!
@Cul de Sac: Well said! I couldn’t agree more!!