Old Spice has come out with a new men’s body care line said to rival nature. Yes, actual nature.

Old Spice is at it again. Getting our attention by using something most of us can relate to, even when associated with personal care products: Humor.

Remember “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” commercials? Even those of us who would never put a conventional deodorant on our pits, or our man’s, loved those ads.

This time, though, Old Spice has taken the direction of countless brands before them and gone natural. Well, sort of.

The latest line up from this decades old men’s care brand has come out with a new line called the Fresher Collection. The body washes, sprays, and deodorants are inspired by nature, and come with monikers like Timber, Amber, and Citron.

The collection was launched with a campaign that includes Twitter updates and more of the brand’s signature offbeat videos. Old Spice is tweeting funny facts to go along with these videos using #NatureFacts.

The videos are pretty hilarious and the campaign does an effective job of linking Old Spice with nature. Or their version of nature, anyway. If a bird vomiting Froot Loops and rocks that microwave pizza bagels are your idea of natural, you will probably love the new line. But if natural to you means healthy, nontoxic ingredients, you’ll be passing on these products.

So are the Fresher Collection products natural in name only? While it almost seems that Old Spice is doing the whole nature thing almost in jest, the press release says otherwise. Once again Old Spice has put a spin on things, this time even doing greenwashing its way. Rather than the typical claims of “our products are natural”, the Fresher Collection is said to “give guys that same great, relaxing feeling that they get from smelling nature”. And there is science to back it up?

So, the press release cites studies that show nature and her natural scents produce calming effects on mind and body. Ok, with them so far. Old Spice also did its own study with Innerscope Research, a “leading neuroscience research firm.” Apparently results show “Old Spice Fresher Collection has the transformational powers to take your brain to the great outdoors, eliciting a more positive response than smelling nature itself.”

For real?

Ok, here’s the deal: My son bought a deodorant from this new collection because it is called Sweat Defense and claims to “give sweat a beat down.” Again with the fabulous marketing. What teenaged guy wouldn’t want this stuff? My son also loves Froot Loops and pizza bagels. Target market, maybe? But does the scent transport me to a place better than nature? Um, no. Smells good, yes, but certainly not better than a walk in the park.

I would wager the thing about these antiperspirants that makes guys feel so uber fantastic is the sweat control. These babies contain 19 percent Aluminum Zirconium Trichlorohydrex, a chemical antiperspirant ingredient. They also tout odor fighting technology, called sweat donuts (yes, really), which trap odor and release fresh scent.

Aluminum used in antiperspirants has been linked to Alzheimer’s Disease and breast cancer. Petro-chemicals, parabens, propylene glycol, and synthetic fragrance are more reasons not to use conventional antiperspirant/deodorant products.

So what’s a guy who doesn’t want to be stinky to do? My husband uses only natural deodorants and has a few that he likes. My trick to keeping your natural deodorant working is to switch them up regularly. Keep a few different brands on hand and trade them out week to week.

Truly Natural Deodorants for Men That Work

Purely Great Citrus

Schmidt’s Natural Dedorant Cedarwood + Juniper

ROCK Deodorant Stick

What do you say? Shall we start a #TrulyNaturalFacts campaign?

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Image of man smelling nature via Shutterstock

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Oh, he’s just so smug.

And no, I’m not jealous of his abs, or the fact that Old Spice’s the Man Your Man Could Smell Like (née Isaiah Mustafa) has led something of a charmed life: The Tennessee Titans signed him to their practice squad, then sent him to play football in Barcelona; he owned a restaurant on Melrose; and he accidentally won $47,000 on The Weakest Link from a question where he mixed up Dr. Viktor Frankenstein and the comic book character Dr. Doom to fortuitous results. Then he got the Old Spice gig. And now he’s popping up everywhere, extolling his plants-only diet.

Mustafa is a vegan, you see, which means I feel even worse about myself. A few days ago, he appeared on the Tonight Show and shared his special diet with Jay Leno (which meant that I was annoyed by both the guest and the host for a change, rather than irritated solely by “Big Jaw”).

“I’m lucky to workout with Tony Horton of P90x fame,” said Mustafa. “He’s got me on this diet right now that’s absolutely ridiculous. There are five things you can’t do.” (Insert eye roll.) “There’s no alcohol; no caffeine; no processed sugars; nothing with a face – no animals or animal byproducts.” Life is so hard.

Oh yes, he goes on.

“But here’s the tough one: no gluten.”

The tough one? Who are you trying to impress, Isaiah? I know gluten’s hard to avoid and all, but to dismiss booze, coffee and meat like they’re tertiary characters in a daily diet is pretentious beyond belief. Also, every vegan I’ve ever met looks like the Crypt Keeper; so how does this fella pull off the beefcake bit without consuming, well, beef and cake?

Bring back Bruce Campbell’s avant-garde Old Spice spots. Now that’s a guy we can look up to.

In other news, Zooey Deschanel’s no longer a vegan, citing food allergies. I’ll take her word before Mustafa’s:

“Sometimes you just need a little something, a little meat.”

Yes, ma’am.

The post The Old Spice Guy Eats Green, and Makes Us See Green appeared first on EcoSalon.

• Isaiah Mustafa aka “The Old Spice Guy” ups his sex appeal after confessing he’s on a vegan diet – Ecorazzi
• It’s not a bad idea to begin tackling your fall gardening – Planet Green
• Volvo is the latest automobile maker to jump on the green car train – Triplepundit
• Did you know that you get fewer pests, a more balanced ecosystem and healthier crops with organic farming? – Tonic
• 10 supplements from your naturopath you should exercise caution before taking – Blisstree
• Finally, the 4-11 on the SunChips compostable bags – Your Daily Thread

The post The Old Spice Hottie Goes Vegan, and Other News from Our Eco Pals appeared first on EcoSalon.