What’s “organic?” What’s “natural?” Is it “orgatural” or “naturanic?” The natural and organic labels in the soap and skincare industry can be incredibly confusing, but below are some points that should help to clear things up (we hope):

1) Certified organic ingredients come directly from nature. Natural ingredients come from nature (usually – more on that later). BUT, only certified organic ingredients are organic. While both certified organic and natural ingredients come from nature, only certified organic ingredients are grown and farmed according to very strict farming and agricultural practices that differ greatly from non-organic, conventional (natural) farming practices.

2) Certified organic ingredients are grown without the use of pesticides, herbicides, and insecticides, all of which can pollute and damage our environment and get into your products. “Natural” ingredients may be natural, but if they are grown with agricultural chemicals, they can end up in your products, as well as pollute our soils and land. Yuck.

3) Organic farming can greatly reduce the use of fossil fuels since its practices don’t use agricultural chemicals, which can account for over half of on-farm energy use. Organic farming practices like crop diversity, nutrient replacement, and water conservation lead to healthier soil and land. Worms everywhere love organic farmers!

4) There is no industry definition of “natural,” and many products claiming such a distinction often contain less than 1% of ingredients derived from nature, while the other 99% are synthetic, petroleum-based chemicals. In fact, the natural products industry specifically allows synthetic preservatives, fragrances, and detergents in their “natural” products. Hmm.

5) The term “organic” does not mean anything, either, without formal certification. The world’s most stringent organic certification process remains the USDA’s National Organic Program (NOP). LEAP uses Oregon Tilth to certify its organic ingredients and processes in accordance with the USDA’s guidelines. An organic ingredient that is certified organic by the USDA NOP guidelines is the gold standard. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.

(Learn more about the USDA’s certification in the “organic standards” section of our website)