I recently got a listing taken down on Etsy, which was my handmade dandelion oil. I take pride in making my natural items from scratch. My dandelion oil has been a best seller for me, as I only use the yellow plant matter when making it. This takes me a very long time and lots of dandelions. It’s a high quality natural moisturizer, and I have used it for years on my face. There are no harmful ingredients (unless of course, you are one in a million who have an allergic reaction to dandelions.)
The benefits of natural Dandelions are spoken about in one of my White Witch Magazine issues and has been used for centuries in folk medicines and even for dandelion herbal teas. I take pride in living a chemical free holistic life, when humanly possible. So why did they take it down?
Now, the listing was a best seller, with all kinds of happy customer feedback, yet, the issue being that I stated something along the lines of…… “According so some sources dandelion oil is said to have anti-inflammatory properties, yet this statement has not been evaluated by the FDA. ” Even with that “disclaimer,” Etsy removed it and struck down my account with a warning.
Two reasons, one, your disclaimer “statements not evaulated by the FDA” means nothing to Etsy. They don’t care, and they won’t accept it. as it can get them into legalities.
Two, I stated something that big phama isn’t going to like – the two words “anti inflammatory” which according to Etsy is a medical claim. In other words, you can’t claim that a dandelion is good for anything medicinal. I suppose this counts for all the herbs and plants in the world? As an homemade botanist, I’m fat from stupid because polyphenols are in dandelions. If you know anything about them, the polyphenols themselves have anti-inflammatory properties. Now it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to do the math that something with anti-inflammatory polyphenols in it just may be anti-inflammatory but don’t tell that to the aspirin manufacturers.
I even had photographs of my face and stated how I use it (which I do) and it keeps my skin so pretty. That was a “claim” on the product and I guess that may not have been allowed either.
So one must be careful when listing their handmade items whether it be soaps, body butter, or moisturizers and lotions. Be sure to talk about the herbs in them but not claim them to any sort of fame. The people looking for natural and holistic things may very well have done their homework and already know the goodness they are getting.
I am happy to report my Dandelion Oil is back active in my shop, but it sells out super fast, so if you don’t see it , check back or shoot me an Etsy message and I’ll let you know when it’s back in.
And yes, I use it. Age here: 51.
So, what do you do if this happens to you? In other words, Etsy removes listings every day. Whether you are using a slogan that may be trademarked (without your knowledge), or you’ve made a handmade item where your mouse looks a lot like Mickey Mouse (and don’t have permission),or say that your hot pepper lotion may help arthritis, (medical claim removal) you must not panic. First things first, never argue with Etsy. If you do talk to support, make sure to apologize and educate yourself so that you understand what happened and take steps to prevent it from happening again.
Any slogans that are trademarked or items that are infringing cannot be listed again. So many strikes and your whole shop will be defunct.
In my case, I made a new listing and re-tailored my description since it was taken down for “medical claim”. In this case I simply state what it’s made of and that it’s a moisturizer and leave all the good stuff out.
Please note, once they deactivate your listing it shows in your dashboard as “deactivated by Etsy” and you cannot COPY, EDIT or RELIST it. So you are pretty much stuck just hacking your own photos and making a new listing. With all of that I wish you good luck!