When we think of censorship, we tend to think of politics, vaxx information, criticism of the government, cannabis etc... big picture things to contain and control the masses, basically. But I want to tell you my recent entrepreneurial story to show how much more insidious censorship really is, and how it limits, confines and controls us in ways we often aren't even aware of.
Because you can't know what you're not allowed to see.
I have been running my Thai natural herbal products business, Pure Thai Natural Co Ltd here in Thailand since 2007. What do we do??
We have a sustainable, family-owned, social enterprise business making traditional health, wellness & bodycare products; we train displaced indigenous and ethnic Karen people along the Thai Burmese border to organically grow the herbal inputs we need, then we make products in the old-style, slo-mo way, which we export around the world. We've been doing that for 16 years now, and we're increasingly focused on sustainable employment for unskilled, non-English speakers and creating healthy lifestyle products for a global community which views purchasing as being not only about cost & the product's specific benefits, but about environmental and broader social impacts.
Since Covid, the drop in taxation revenue for Thailand and due to an increasing insistence on accountability from international trade partners, the Thai government has updated the licensing requirements for the kinds of products we make. And as we're completing a re-licensing process in our NEW and bigger production facility, we've become VERY aware of some changes & censorship issues NO ONE IS TALKING ABOUT.
You see, the new licensing rules have LIMITS on actual words we're no longer allowed to use! At all. Ever. Even if we have clinical data to prove that it's a factual descriptor.
And since we started our re-licensing, we suddenly that we found THIS message in the admin notices of our online store last week:
After following up with Google and then cross-checking the 58 pages of Thai language rules that have been updated and appended to the online re-licensing process with the Thai FDA, I discovered our "policy violation" is because of outrageous WORDS (truths, actually - clinically proven, published & peer reviewed studies easily available and often quoted on our social media to support any and all claims we make) that we have used in product descriptions.
What terrible words have I been using that are considered a "misrepresentation"? Healing (as in our Thai Traditional Healing Balm), anti-inflammatory (as in phlai & neem), anti-bacterial (as in neem & wan sao long) and the outrageous "increase blood circulation" as in one of the benefits of regular body scrubbing.
Further examination and clarification of the updated Thai FDA rules has yielded a LIST of words I am expressly and specifically NOT allowed to use on ANY packaging or in the online store or point of sale product descriptions for ANY products we produce that are classified & licensed as either "cosmetic" or "herbal product":
- Cure
- Healing
- Medicated
- Therapeutic
- Anti-inflammation
- Anti-inflam
- Itching relieve
- Pain relieve
- Remedy
- Antiseptic
- Disinfectant
- Kill germ
- Bacteria
- Virus
- Fungi
- Kill microorganisms
- Stimulate hair growth
- Stop hair fall
- Pigment reducing
- Inhibit enzyme
- Increase blood circulation
- Slender/Remodeler/Shaper/Slimming
- Scar erase
- Scar treatment
These specific words/terms are now expressly and ONLY allowed to be used by registered pharmaceutical products.
What does it mean for us??
An expensive packaging upgrade, at a time in the post-Covid economy when we can least afford it. But we've started, and I'm pretty pleased with what I've achieved already in a couple of weeks from my Covid sick bed.
As frustrated and irritated as I am about the ramifications for us personally, I'm CONCERNED about what these restrictions mean in terms of limiting choice for consumers at the point of sale.
In a world of 20 second attention spans, censored social media and not being able to use clinical data links on platforms like Instagram, we're now having to EXPLAIN herbal vs chemical. And that's a complex task!
As consumers, we are being given LESS and LESS information to make important purchasing choices!
What could be more important than knowing what you're putting on your body and the effects it has, when you're in the store considering which product to choose? Consumers are being required to personally develop a HUGE knowledge base, so we can understand toxic chemical fragrance effects, natural substances that help us remain well and a thousand other nuanced, complex ingredient issues.
As entrepreneurial business owners, we are required to put more and more time and resources into long form advertorial to explain our products, at a not insubstantial cost. Yup, I'm needing to start my Natural Impact Podcast like YESTERDAY. But we're only able to give some of these complex messages in long form, which are increasingly NOT accessed by the majority of consumers. Plus I'm not sure if a TikTok about how neem is a clinically proven antibacterial agent is really gonna go viral (pun intended!) or be an easily shared piece of infotainment.
This week, I have to explain to our customers and supporters WHY we're seemingly frivolously and wastefully (for a sustainable products company) reprinting and repackaging. Sigh This post is a beginning point in providing a reference point to easily share on social media, and in response to any complaints.
I want a world where we have MORE information at point of sale, not less!!
I want a world where consumers are easily informed and don't need to spend 15 hours online researching before they choose a natural face mask.
I want a world where the provenance of a product is easily tracked.
I want a world where governments have less say about the words we're allowed to use - whether that be in a product description in my online store, or in an online article or on a product pack.
And somedays I simply wonder. I think most consumers have NO IDEA what producers of their products are allowed to say, or not. This is a big part of the censorship discussion that often gets overlooked.
I personally believe that the most radical and political act any of us can make, is how we spend our money. Each dollar-baht-peso we spend is literally a vote for the kind of world our children will need to live in. To me, restricting product information is a bit like limiting the information we're allowed to know about a potential political representative. We wouldn't tolerate this in the political sphere, would we? So why is it insidiously driving commerce on all levels??
You can't know what you're not allowed to see.
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