What the difference between ‘Natural’ and ‘Organic’ products? Aren’t they the same thing? Aren’t ‘natural’ products considered ‘organic’ as well? These are very good questions, and the truth is that there isn’t a mutually universal answer. But we feel that this is an important enough subject that it warrants its own article to explain our thoughts on it.
Let’s start by defining what a Natural product is. A natural product is an ingredient or combination of ingredients that have been derived directly from the earth or its living entities. A natural product is provided in raw state(s) with no chemical engineering or other processes that are not ‘naturally occurring’. In regards to the garden industry – natural products can include raw minerals as well as the bi-products of plants and animals.
When referring to a product that is labeled as organic – it’s more complicated. This is because the term ‘organic’ is not defined as a product at all. In reality – an organic label refers to the federal certification that is issued for a product after it passes a regulated (and expensive) program to prove that it is in fact natural, clean, and free of harmful processes. One of the primary requirements of the organic certification is that the products are or are derived from the 100% natural products previously mentioned.
Considering all of this information… It is completely fair to say that all organic products are ‘natural’ products… But it’s not legal to say that all natural products are ‘organic’ (regardless of whether they are the same products or not). Make Sense?? I know, not really – but we have to follow the rules. So for the record:
TerrAbono Garden Products are made of 100% Natural Ingredients. But they are not considered to be Organic.
At TerrAbono – we have alot of prior experience producing natural AND organically labeled products. The parent company of Terrabono is Good Earth Organics (GEO) and is based in southern Oregon. At GEO we have produced 100% natural AND organically labeled garden products for almost 16 years. The clean and natural gardening mission has always the primary focus at GEO, so we’ve always maintained organic certifications in the form of a stamp on the packaging to prove it.
But the process of obtaining Organic Certifications is extremely complicated and even more expensive. Organic certifications begin with – but don’t end with the USDA. After receiving organic certification from the federal level, every organically labeled product has to be individually registered in every state that you want to sell it in – and every state has separate fees, requirements, and waiting periods. Additionally every product certification and subsequent state registration has to be renewed annually. By no small margin – organic certification contributes the lion’s share of an organically labeled product’s final cost.
When we first created the of TerrAbono brand – it was with the idea that we would offer premium gardening products for the lowest costs in the industry. For this reason, we have not – and do not intend to obtain organic certifications for our products. TerrAbono products are what they are – 100% natural products and we are ok with that. Adding ⅓ to the customer’s final cost for the sole purpose of having someone else add a sticker to the packaging is counter productive to our mission of lower costs for our customers.
One more time for the record:
TerrAbono Garden Products are made of 100% Natural Ingredients. But they are not considered to be Organic.
Happy Gardening!
