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May 2, 2011
Final Research Paper
Dr. Raines' English 1302
Brandon Rohlf
Strength and Balance Given From an Everyday Bracelet
Every American who watches television, whether it be the daily news or evening shows,
has had to sit through infomercials during shows' breaks at one point or another. These consist
of entrepreneurs, or more commonly known, scam artists, trying to sell a product for a 20 dollar
price tag or higher. The term scam artist is used most of the time because these products being
advertised are junk and do not live up to their potential or simply don't work. Over the years,
some products have become widely known and had their time in the spotlight such as the
ShamWow! towels and the Snuggie blanket. Now a new hoax has found its way onto television:
the popular iRenew bracelet whose ads claim can properly maintain our body's energy field from
a pseudoscience known as the biofield. If this product actually did what it claims, why is it sold
through infomercials using false advertising and deceptive demonstration videos?
In 1984, President Reagan signed the Cable Communications Policy Act deregulating
television ("Infomercial History Highlights"). This allowed the TV industry to be under "free
market rule, which stated that the government didn't belong in business, and businesses should
live and die by the success or failure of their own practices and market forces" (Romando). Not
long after, cable channels were becoming mainstream as anyone and everyone who had any
skills or contacts in the broadcast industry were creating their own channels. With little surprise,
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the only real successful ones were religious-based, and used mostly as a form of fundraising.
Pretty soon, many channels started to go under, as ad revenue could no longer support them like
it used to because of declining ratings. This led to cheap broadcast space being born "and
enterprising businessmen, more like vultures than saviors, swooped down and began to chew on
the dying carcasses of the young cable industry, buying up blocks of cheap, late night, off-peak
broadcast time, running 30 minute or 60 minute, inexpensively produced commercials
refashioned as entertainment programs" (Romando). Soon anybody with an idea for a get rich
quick scheme, the next big thing, or simply trying to scam audiences out of their hard-earned
money had a huge industry to whom they could pitch their idea. The scam artists and useless
products are what have given infomercials bad names, but since the policy act was signed,
infomercials and television have become two sides of the same coin.
Since that time, products that get their start on infomercials, rather than through reputable
retail channels, typically raise red flags. This is what the iRenew bracelet has done. If these
bracelets worked as they claim, they would not have bypassed the peer review process, scientific
journals and proper clinical studies, especially when they are proposing new physics. Curious
how this simple bracelet can do such a thing? Their website claims that as you wear the bracelet,
it will "harness the natural frequencies which are ever present in our environment and use them
to tune and rebalance your biofield back to a more natural, coherent state" ("iRenew Biofield
Technology"). This not only severely lacks plausibility but any evidence of efficiency beyond a
placebo. In an interview with Wallet Pop, retired psychiatrist Dr. Stephen Barrett had this to say
about this new science:
Just substitute the word 'ghosts' for anything to do with energy force. Ghosts can
cause all sorts of things, so what they're talking about is simply an imaginary
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problem. While there are indeed electrical forces other than the environment,
these forces cannot be scientifically measured. iRenew claims to have something
that can fix them, but I have no reason to believe this device can protect you. And
how can a miniscule device you wear on your wrist protect your whole body,
anyway?
The saddest thing of all is that thousands of people will spend $20 they cannot afford to spend in
this economy and buy one.
It is said that to truly understand something, it must be viewed from all angles. Take for
example, an individual with a form of chronic pain. This type of pain consists of never ending,
very excruciating discomfort that doesn't let up for very long periods of time. Anyone, no matter
how much will they possess to endure it, will eventually succumb to seeking any and all forms of
treatment to have some peace from the misery. Upon hearing about a revolutionary bracelet,
they are willing to give it a try. After some time passes, they may claim to have some relief from
the pain by one reasoning that studies have shown to be true, mind over matter. In an interview
with the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (Ninds.nih.gov), Dr. Robert
Coghill of the Wake Forest University School of Medicine, had this to say on how controlling
our mind helps us control pain, "our data shows that what you think really changes what you
experience. Positive thinking could be an important adjunct to managing chronic pain. Pain
needs to be treated with more than just pills, the brain can powerfully shape pain, and we need to
exploit its power" (Jones). So who's to say that the customers point of view is wrong? The
answer is no one; no one has the right or the authority to denounce what another person believes
in. To argue with someone who feels that this bracelet does improve health is like going up to a
religious individual and quarrel about how their religion is false and their god isn't real. It is
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appropriate to believe in what you wish to believe in, but it is not to try and force those down
someone else's throat, or say that they are wrong for what they accept to be true; that'll just make
you look like a major dork.
If a product is as legitimate as it claims to be, typically it will find its way onto a home
shopping network. QVC, Inc., one of the largest multimedia retailers in the world, sells a wide
array of merchandise ("Fact Sheet"). These products can range from cleaning products, bake
wares, electronics, beauty supplies and even fitness equipment. That's not to say that any kind of
product can be sold on this network. QVC has very strict policies on what tests have to be
passed before being presented to the public on their network. QVC has a stellar reputation to
uphold of selling quality items, but they also buy products from the manufacturer in hundreds, if
not thousands, so plenty are in stock for their customers. It is interesting to note that as
revolutionary as this bracelet claims to be, it is not sold on QVC, yet a simple Snuggie is sold in
the thousands in different colors and sizes.
Even though iRenew hasn't been on a shopping network, that doesn't mean it has not
caught the media's attention. Popular news station KREX-TV has tested the bracelet in one of
their "Don't Buy It 'Til We Try It" features. With the help of Diane Carson, owner and president
of Multi-Pier Basics For Health, KREX-TV gave the iRenew a try. Muscle strength and balance
were tested and both failed, which led to some major concerns. Ms. Carson said that "it
weakened you and therefore weakened your strength and you were not as strong when I tried to
push you over." Not being forgiving in her rating of one to five, Ms. Carson gave it a negative
one.
An interesting thing to consider is this review from a news station and what conclusion
one can draw by observing how the bracelet is falsely advertised in the demonstration video.
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When the company demonstrator is testing different peoples' balance by pulling on their arm in
the side by side screens, there is something important to watch out for that can be easily missed.
The left screen is a short "before" video which shows a person not wearing the bracelet and the
right screen is an "after" video showing that same person wearing the bracelet. It is important to
note that the demonstrator pulls the person's arms away from the body when the bracelet is not
being worn, which would lead anyone to lose their balance. On the other hand, when the
bracelet is being worn, the demonstrator pulls the person's arms straight down, instead of away
from the body, which won't cause any problems in keeping and maintaining one's balance
(iRenewdeal.com). On February 18th of 2011, a lawsuit was filed against the iRenew company.
Arjana Xexo, an everyday American woman from Michigan, is seeking a big payoff. After
purchasing this product in the hopes that it would improve her health, much like the iRenew
bracelet is advertised to do, Miss Xexo experienced absolutely no improvement. The suit was
filed after Miss Xexo paid the $20 price tag and nearly $16 in shipping and handling, adding up
to $36 for two useless bracelets. "John Merritt, president of Boca-based iRenew Bio Energy
Solutions LLC, wasn't available for comment" (Hamacher). Xexo's attorney is asking to file a
class action lawsuit "on behalf of hundreds of others who bought the bracelets and were
dissatisfied, estimating damages at $5 million" (Hamacher). It may have been a long time
coming, but it's good to know someone finally took these frauds to court. The case has yet to be
settled, though justice will soon be served.
For brand new products, or ones that have been around for some time, it's not uncommon
that imitators will make their way out of the wood work for a chance at the spot light. After a
little digging and some comparisons, a very intriguing connection was found between this
iRenew bracelet and another one that has been around for quite a while. Phiten, a company that
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was created back in 1983, has had their primary focus on "the body's natural healing power. This
is made possible by the natural state of balance, which can be upset by stress or fatigue from an
ever-increasing variety of sources; many of which we remain largely unaware" (Hirata). Seeing
as how Phiten got a much earlier start with their product, it's strange that there hasn't been any
sort of lawsuit against iRenew for copyright . That's because, like many imitators, by changing
one to two things about their commodity, or broadcast that it accomplishes their goal through
different means, they can't be held responsible under copyright laws if they are selling the same
thing as another company. While iRenew's bracelet uses the biofield technology, Phiten's
merchandise utilizes an interesting, if not eye raising technology called Aqua Titan. This
consists of "microscopic titanium particles dispersed in water, achieved through Phiten's
processing technology. This material realizes titanium particles embedded into every strand of
fabric, while maintaining the comfortable texture" ("What is Aqua Titan?"). The difference
between the two bracelets is simply that one has titanium soaked up into the fabric while the
other is just fabric with a titanium band on it. Luckily for Phiten though, they not only have
multiple types of merchandise than just a bracelet accessory. Phiten's company profile lists their
business as "sales and production of quasi-drugs, medical devices, cosmetic, hair-care product,
sports related product, health food, and health goods" (Company Profile). Clearly through
innovation Phiten has been able to stand the test of time, while its only a matter of time till
iRenew silently dies like every imitator like it.
In the end, if a product that gets its start on an infomercial claims to have revolutionary
technology, while lacking in scientific proof, let the buyer beware. The iRenew bracelet has
received numerous reviews calling it a scam and people should stay away from spending their
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hard-earned money on a lie. Like the old saying goes, if it looks too good to be true, it probably
is not true.
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Works Cited
"Company Profile." Phiten.com. May. 2009.
<http://www.phiten.com/english/about_phiten/company.html>. Web. 2 May. 2011.
"Don't Buy It 'Til We Try It." News Channel 5. Narr. Ashley Soukup. CBS. KREX,
Colorado. 11 Aug. 2010. Television.
"Fact Sheet." QVC.com. 29 Nov. 2010.
<http://www.qvc.com/qic/qvcapp.aspx/app.html/params.file.%7Ccp%7Cmainhqfact,html
/left.html.file.%7Cnav%7Cnavhqabout,html/walk.html.%7Cnav%7Cnavhqwel,html>.
Web. 30 Jan. 2011.
Hamacher, Brian. "Boca Energy Bracelet Company Hit With Lawsuit." NBSMIAMI.com. 23
Feb. 2011. <http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/Boca-Energy-Bracelet-CompanyHit-with-Lawsuit-116737549.html>. Web. 2 May. 2011.
Hirata, Yoshihiro. "Message From President." Phiten.com.
<http://www.phiten.com/english/about_phiten/index.html>. Web. 2 May. 2011.
"Infomercial History Highlights." USATODAY.com. 24 Oct. 2004.
<http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2004-10-24-infomercialtimeline_x.htm>. Web. 30 Jan. 2011.
"iRenew Biofield Technology." iRenewdeal.com.
<https://www.irenewdeal.com/Irenew-Biofield-Technology.cgi>. Web. 30 Jan. 2011.
iRenewdeal.com. Advertisement.
<https://www.irenewdeal.com/Index.cgi>. Web. 30 Jan. 2011.
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Jones, Michelle D. "Expectations of Pain: I Think, Therefore I Am." Ninds.nih.gov. 15 Feb.
2006.
<http://www.ninds.nih.gov/news_and_events/news_articles/news_article_pain_perceptio
n.htm>. Web. 2 May. 2011.
Koleva, Gergana. "iRenew Energy Balance Bracelet Fends Off 'Imaginary' Forces." Walletpop.com.
23 Jul. 2010. <http://www.walletpop.com/2010/07/23/irenew-energy-balance-braceletfends-off-imaginary-forces/2#comments>. Web. 30 Jan. 2011.
Romando, Richard. "History of Infomercials." Ezinarticles.com. 7 Sep. 2005.
<http://ezinearticles.com/?History-of-Infomercials&id=68972>. Web. 2 May. 2011.
"What is Aqua Titan?" Phiten.com. <http://www.phiten.com/english/faq/index.html>. Web. 2
May. 2011.