When I first started working with and learning about essential oils, I wanted to use the very best of the very best (still do—and we do).
I kept seeing the term "therapeutic grade" or "certified therapeutic grade" in relation to essential oils. After researching and speaking with numerous experts in the field, it became apparent that this was simply a marketing term that was coined in the 90's, and does not have any real meaning. Essential oils are inherently therapeutic, and while there are specifications for what constitutes an essential oil, set by the International Organization for Standardization, there is not a set of specifications that would define an essential oil as "certified therapeutic" and no independent bodies that certify essential oils as such.
In many industries (healthcare, agriculture, etc., as you are probably very familiar), there are Independent Certification Bodies, Accreditation Services, that are generally not-for-profit and independent—watchdogs who make sure that what companies say is happening is actually happening. With every certification there are specific parameters that the product must meet: So for instance, in the US, the USDA sets the standards for organic agriculture, and any certifying bodies must be approved by the USDA to be credible. This system creates multiple levels of independent evaluation—and a company can't just claim that its products are organic, at least on packaging, unless it's been certified so by this system of certification.
You may have seen some "multi-level marketing" companies that sell essential oils and recruit independent sellers to vend on their behalf—and recruit more sellers beneath them in a sales strategy that resembles a pyramid :) One of these multi-level marketing companies puts a "certification seal"on their packaging that says "CPTG" or Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade. This private company actually trademarked this particular term and seal, and designed it to resemble the seals that are from independent bodies. Since they trademarked it, they are of course the only ones who can use it. Basically, they are pretending like "CPTG" is an official, independent certification, which of course it isn't.
While I hope very much that the essential oils that they sell are of high quality, the fact that they are creating this misleading marketing scheme does not give me high hopes for their credibility as a company. As a general rule of thumb, I would think twice before sourcing from a company that claims their essential oils are "certified therapeutic grade." They are either completely naive and pretending to have a certification that doesn't exist, or they are not naive and are pretending to have a certification that does not exist. Either way, not promising.
I wish that the essential oil market was more heavily regulated, however, this is not the case. Many of the "essential oils" and plant oils sold on Amazon and other sites are synthetic, and it is up to the consumer to do their homework and make sure to source from reputable companies that can provide paperwork and lab testing to back up their products. It is up to companies to do their homework as well—and to be transparent with their customers. A good rule of thumb is to ask companies to provide Certificates of Analysis and GC Reports when you order, any reputable essential oil supplier will be able to provide those.
So, what kind of essential oils do we source for Everyday Oil?
The essential oils we use in Everyday Oil are of the highest quality and most tightly regulated in the industry. They are in compliance with ISO 9001:2008 and come with Material Safety Data Sheets, Certificates of Analysis, and GC Reports. They are never tested on animals, and the ingredients that are Certified Organic are certified by the leading Independent organic certification company, QAI. Every recommended quality control element is in place. We don't call them "therapeutic grade" because that's not a real thing, and with Everyday Oil you will always get a very real thing.
If you would like to read more about this issue, please check out these references:
The Quality of Essential Oils Journal
There Are No FDA Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade Essential Oils
Jennifer Depew, RD
January 12, 2024
I agree that deceptive marketing is wrong, but in your own article you state: “…and it is up to the consumer to do their homework and make sure to source from reputable companies that can provide paperwork and lab testing to back up their products.” The CPTG self certification by doTerra is providing their customers with paperwork and lab testing to back up the claims of purity and third party independent testing is part of their quality control process. Their website also makes it clear that the rating is something developed on their own – there is no subterfuge suggesting that it is a government or other certifying organization. It would be in the interest of fairplay to allow other companies to meet the same criteria and be able to claim the rating too, rather than trademarking the process and initials. *I am not a doTerra marketer but have been appreciating their products but I also find NOW brand and Mountain Rose Herbs products to have some beneficial functions. The big difference I’ve seen in the doTerra oils is that they seem more pure, they seem to dissolve in water in a way that the other brands don’t – and wouldn’t really expect an oil too.
NOW brand does do quality testing on their essential oils and they bring the price point down on pricier oils by making a dilution – which is labeled as such. At a glance Frankincense might seem like a much better deal than doTerra’s but NOW’s is a 20% dilution with fractionated coconut oil. NOW’s Rose Absolute is only 5% with Jojoba oil as the carrier. That puts the price in line with their other oils ~ $15-20 for a 30 ml bottle. Many consumers could not pay $60 to $100 for a bottle of pure essential oil that doTerra makes available in 5 or 15 ml bottles. I would rather people be able to afford a decent product and NOW oils seem like a decent product from my own use. The doTerra oils do seem better though. I do like fairplay and affordability. I love Eucalyptus oil and use a lot of it so I got a 4 oz bottle from Mountain Rose Herbs rather than a 15 ml bottle from doTerra. It kind of depends on what you want to use the oils for – diffuser, topical, or internal use?