Organic Products: What’s All the Buzz About?

If you’ve been shopping for almost anything lately-whether it’s for food, makeup, or even clothes, you’ve probably run across the term ‘organic’ on product labels. But do you know what that term means, or how to tell if you’re really buying an organic product?

Written by Lisa Powell, Green Health Research Contributor

Organic Defined

Products labeled ‘organic’ don’t always explain what that means, and if you’re thinking about going organic it’s important to understand how that term is used. Technically, the word organic just means that the product contains carbon, which is an element that is present in all living things. So an organic product should be made from living, not synthetic things, such as plants or animals, not a substance created in a lab.

Certified Organic versus Non-certified

However, just because a product calls itself organic doesn’t mean the way it was produced is in-line with sustainable farming and production methods, or even that the product is truly organic. In order to ensure that what you’re buying is organic, the label should say ‘certified organic’. Organic certification is regulated by an independent third-party, in the US this is Department of Agriculture, and this independent body makes sure that companies claiming to produce organic goods adhere to strict rules regarding how products are made and ensuring that all certified organic products contain at least 95% organic ingredients. If a product is not certified organic, you really have no way of knowing if this label is accurate, or how the product was made.

Organic versus Natural

“Ok,” you might be saying, “but what about all those products that are just labeled ‘natural’?” Well, those products are not regulated at all! In the US, only meat and poultry claiming to be natural have to adhere to guidelines that state what ‘natural’ means. So anything that’s not meat or poultry can claim to be natural, and there’s no way to really know what that means, or if the label is truthful. Just because a product claims to be ‘natural’ or ‘all-natural’ it can still contain chemicals, antibiotics, or lots of other nasty stuff that is really far from what the average person would consider to be natural!

So What Should I Look For?

The best way to know that you’re purchasing an organic product or a product that contains truly organic ingredients is to always look for the label to say ‘certified organic’, not just organic. And ‘natural’ products, well, just look at the label and know that just because something claims to be natural doesn’t mean it always is.