Paloma Textiles

For at least the past thirty years, we've seen the word natural on the labels of foods, cosmetics, and other household items such as textiles and yarns.  Advertisers favor it because it appeals to our emotions--it makes us feel clean, safe, and protected from unnatural agents, which we identify with toxic man-made substances.  On a subconscious level it evokes images such as pristine mountain waterfalls, freshly bathed infants, and undisturbed woodland scenes.  The problem with the word is that it is evocative rather than factual.  It really doesn't tell us how something was made.