How Advertisers Misuse the Term “Organic”
There has been so much hype and talk about organic products that many people are confused on what and who to trust. Whenever anything becomes a trend, large marketing and production companies take advantage of a good thing and make cheap imitations and charge a whole lot more. The market is currently saturated with thousands of products claiming to be organic and in essence — they’re not. There are three categories you should be familiar with when shopping for organic products; 100% organic, organic & made with organic.
It’s Gotta Say USDA
The way to ensure the product you are purchasing is 100% organic is to first look for the USDA Organic seal and the wording on the packaging must say “100% organic.” When you see both of these two statements you can be assured that all of the ingredients in the product are in fact organic.
100%, Not 95%, Organic
The second category of organic products is “organic.” This is where most of the confusion comes in and where marketing firms love to mislead the consumer.
If a product just has the USDA Organic seal on it without the words “100% organic” this means that the product is made with at least 95% organic ingredients. You can see why, at a quick glance, you may be under the impression that you’re buying a fully organic product but in essence it’s partially conventional.
‘Made With Organic,’ Just A Way To Charge More
The last category is the statement “made with organic.” This statement can be seen on everything these days; from mattresses, to foods and even furniture. This statement is not permitted to have the USDA Organic seal to make it more obvious for the consumer. Although some people think, “some organic is better than no organic,” it’s recommended to not waste your money on these products.
Either buy the real deal or stick to the conventional version. This is where advertisers are able to charge the consumer more money for something that isn’t much safer or better quality.
Take a mattress for example. If you purchase a mattress that says, “make with organic” this means the cotton may be organic, but the filling and toxic flame retardant chemicals are still present. Beware of these ploys, they’re there to take your money while not providing any additional protection.
Advertisers and marketing companies today will use anything to get more people to buy more of their product, even when it comes to unethical marketing. Be a defensive consumer; research and study a product before you decide to buy it. This way you’ll know your money is actually buying you the exact product you want.
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January 20th, 2009 at 9:56 am
For those of us in Canada, we have a number of alternative certification bodies, most or all of which use higher standards than the USDA, which has already been watered down by big business interests. There's more Canadian info at http://www.cog.ca, and just one example from the dairy industry of how the USDA isn't doing as well as it could is at: http://www.hsus.org/farm/news/ournews/milking_t...
All that said, organic is definitely the way to go! As you point out, we just can't see the word and assume it's all good. Thanks for this great article.
January 20th, 2009 at 7:32 pm
Great post – Isn't that called “greenwashing?”
January 22nd, 2009 at 11:19 am
Unfortunately in Canada, misuse of labels “organic” “local” and “farmers markets” is prevalent but consumers are not aware. My sister, who works in the PR and agricultural industry, alerted me to this unfortunate trend.
May 24th, 2009 at 2:30 am
True, people just say organic, and most people assume it's totally safe, and shouldn't organic materials cost cheaper? Since it's organic that means it grows, you don't metal to make plants grow!