Labels

If you’re a conscious consumer, this is probably going to sound familiar to you:

Food isn't the only thing that can be organic: Beauty products can, too. The green beauty industry is booming, and with so many new brands out there, you're bound to see the words 'natural' and 'organic' thrown around. It can get confusing, too: What does each label mean? Don't they mean the same thing? I can assure you, they do not. Unfortunately, many companies are guilty of greenwashing, so it's important to stay alert. There is a distinct difference between natural and organic labels, and I want to make that as clear as possible.

Did you know 'vegan' can also apply to beauty products (not just your diet)? You might have seen a skincare product labeled 'vegan' or 'cruelty-free' while out shopping. Sadly, a lot of people get confused about this. Want to know what each label really means?  No worries: It's actually pretty simple to understand. Here, I explain what each term means and why they're certainly not the same thing.

Eggs - they are simple, nutritious and come in their own natural shipping container.

So how did they become so complicated?

All natural, free-range, humanely raised, pasture-raised - it is confusing! If you are not able to raise your own hens, then how do you buy the best eggs? Sometimes you stare at the choices so long you just decide to go with the least expensive carton and move on.

Let's take a look at what those labels really mean:

Food labels and packaging serve more than one purpose: shoppers read labels primarily to decipher nutrition information and ingredients lists while manufacturers use words on packaging like “healthy” and “natural” as advertising tools to sell products. But such claims are not clearly defined.