“Natural” is mostly unregulated in the USA and all other parts of the world, so just because a label says “natural”, it doesn’t actually mean that it is. “Organic” is another story. Being a regulated term, it’s against the law to label a product as such without strict approval in the USA, Canada, Europe and most parts of the world.

According to the American Society for Nutrition, any “foods containing natural flavors, sweeteners, or other plant-derived substances can be labeled natural” regardless if it is laden with pesticides or not. By law, organic foods cannot be grown with pesticides, but there are no laws in place for “natural.”

“Organic” and “natural” are often mistaken as meaning the same thing, but legally speaking, they are quite different. Organic has stringent labeling regulations (we’ll get to that in a bit), whereas the term “natural” can be interpreted in various ways.

When it comes to product labeling, the biggest difference between natural and organic is that the term "organic" is regulated. While this personal care product claim isn't monitored by the FDA, use of the term "organic" is subject to regulations from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

An “organic” label is a stamp that lets consumers know that this product is inspected and regulated in every step of its production. As we established, organic products are unmodified, while natural products can still contain artificial additives, pesticides, or hormones. On top of that, they can be genetically modified.