Natural or Organic Baby Product?

“Natural” and “Organic” are labels found on baby products ranging from organic cotton clothing to baby food. Although both terms are often used interchangeably to describe farming or production methods that aren’t conventional, only the “organic” label is regulated by the government for food items, and that includes crops like cotton which, although not an edible food crop, is also farmed with organic methods that significantly vary from those used for a conventional crop of cotton. “Natural,” on the other hand, doesn’t refer to a specific method and, although defined by the FDA, isn’t regulated by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). “Natural” refers to any product that is derived from a natural source and has not been synthetically altered during production. In terms of creating a baby product, both “natural” and “organic” are used, and these terms range from baby food descriptions to the type of fabric used for a baby product like a blanket or a shirt.

The term “organic” refers strictly to food items, including cotton, that are handled by organic means defined by the Organic Food Production Act, including production, manufacturing, and handling procedures. Organic farming, whether for the cotton for an organic baby product or to create organic vegetables, is designed to encourage soil and water conservation and reduce pollution. Such procedures used for organic farming to make organic products and food include using non-synthetic fertilizer and pesticides, crop rotation, and cover cropping to reduce erosion. For an organic fabric like cotton used for a typical baby product, the organic procedure to exclude chemicals from the manufacturing and production goes beyond the farming stage. Organic fabric isn’t treated with harsh and harmful chemicals, such as formaldehyde which is used to make fabrics wrinkle-free, and chemical dyes. An organic baby product, as seen by many of the baby products on Natural Baby Network, would be dyed in a number of colors created by dyes from plants, flowers, and fruit instead of a man-made, synthetic color.

The label “natural,” while occasionally used interchangeably with “organic” by many organic baby product manufacturers, doesn’t have the same farming practices regulated by the USDA’s Organic Food Production Act. “Natural” foods and products, although defined by the FDA, aren’t regulated by the government. “Natural,” instead, refers to the origins and production of the item, with a natural product coming from a natural source and not being processed with anything synthetic or artificial during manufacturing. Some organic products do follow the “natural” definition, including organic cotton for a typical organic baby product. Organic cotton, aside from being a naturally-occurring plant, has nothing artificial added during production, including no synthetic dyes or synthetic “filler” fibers; nothing going into creating an organic cotton baby product from the material to the dyes is man-made.

In terms of purchasing an “organic” or “natural” baby product, be it a jar of baby food or clothes, organic products are often labeled. An organic product, including a baby product, can be 100-percent organic; “Organic,” meaning 95-percent of the ingredients are organic; or made with organic ingredients, which should be at least 70-percent organic. Anything below 70 percent cannot have an organic label, although individual ingredients can be labeled as organic themselves.

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