What does "Organic" mean?

Organic tomatoes. Organic cotton. Organic, organic, organic. We see the word "organic" everywhere, but what does it mean to be organic? In simple terms, the word "organic" is a promise that a food or product has been grown with the purest and most natural ingredients. Organic also means farming techniques utilized are better for the land and animals on which they are raised.

In the United States, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has guidelines for certifying food and products like cotton organic. While the overall principles of organic certifications are common to both food and non-food products, there are different considerations you should be aware of.

Food Products

For food products the USDA outlines that in order for a product to wear an organic USDA label it must contain a certain % of organic ingredients that have been certified by the USDA. Most food products are labeled as 100% organic or wear the round green USDA seal. Some food products also have labels that say, "Made with organic ingredients." So what’s the difference between having the USDA label and not having it?

The 100% organic label means the product can only contain organic ingredients. You are more likely to find this on fruits and vegetables, which are single ingredients. The USDA organic seal means that at least 95% of the ingredients (by weight) are organic and the remaining ingredients are considered acceptable options by the USDA.

"Made with organic ingredients" means the product has at least 70% organic ingredients (by weight). These products cannot have a USDA organic seal, but they can have up to three organic ingredients indicated on the front of the package.

Agricultural Products Like Cotton

When we hear the word organic, most people think of organic food, but the USDA does regulate the organic certification process for many agricultural products like cotton by following standards outlined in the Organic Food Production Act (OFPA). However, since much of the supply of cotton comes from outside the US, other certifications of organic cotton are often found on clothing, textiles, and fabrics.

As you can imagine there are many certifications throughout the world, but the one most commonly cited for agricultural organic products outside the US is given by SKAL . SKAL is a Dutch organization that certifies organic agricultural products throughout Europe, Asia, South America, and Africa. The EKO seal certifies that an agricultural product, like cotton, has been grown in the absence of pesticides and other chemicals and that the soil has not been sprayed with any of the banned substances, cited by SKAL, for three years. Three years! That’s pretty long so rest assured if the cotton has the EKO seal its only received after a fair amount of time, effort and following of strict guidelines.

Why Organic?

Now that you know what organic means you may wonder why bringing organic living into your life....well, here are five fabulously green reasons to do so:

1. There’s something to be said for less is more. The same goes for organic food and products, which means less pesticides, less chemicals, less hormones, less antibiotics, which all translates into less health risks for you and more pure minerals, more vitamins (A, E, Omega-3s to name a few), more nutrients (calcium, iron, magnesium), more anti-oxidants, which translates into health benefits for you!
2. Organic farming, whether fruits and vegetables or cotton producing plants, promotes farming practices that foster ecological harmony and environmental responsibility. This means your food is grown on land with more nutrients, free of chemicals and the animals are treated humanely.
3. You can help reduce pollution by supporting organic products. After all, as we know, you are what you eat, so chemicals in the soil can go into the fruits & vegetables through the roots, which can end up in the meat produced from the animal eating the fruit or vegetable. Worse yet, you could end up eating the chemicals from eating the fruit and vegetables directly!
4. Soft and gentle…that’s what organic cotton gives you. Clothing is generally softer and more comfy. Plus its better for your skin since no pesticides are used when growing the cotton.
5. And finally, if the above four reasons don’t convince you, which hopefully they did, organic foods just taste better! One reason may be that organic foods produce less water content over time so you get more of the natural taste of the fruit or vegetable given the slower growing process. So see, less IS more – more taste for you!