We wandered stores looking for labels and certifications and tell you what they really mean
Introducing the Label Education Series
LifeHave you ever seen labels, certification, and statements on everything from your eggs and coffee to your mattress and clothing and wondered, what does that mean? Things that say organic might feel pretty common, but what about things saying they are grass fed, or GOTS certified What about packaging saying it's biobased? Should that be something you care about, or maybe not? It can all be overwhelming and a little confusing. Don't worry, we've got you covered.
We spent hours shopping at stores like Safeway, Target, Trader Joe's, Walmart, Whole Foods, and a Co-op store to look for what labels are out there. We looked around quite a bit. We turned boxes upside down, looked under cushions, and checked products you might not think to examine like carpet cleaner, canned tuna, baby products, and even toilet paper. Seriously, we've got you covered.
The lists we have compiled are representative of the many different labels, seals, and icons that we saw on a variety of different products. Some lists are fairly short and straight-forward, others are long and broken down into a variety of categories (in an effort to make them easier to go through). We do our best to point out the most common label of each type and draw your attention to some of the interesting, health related ones that we saw.
To be honest, we were mystified by some of the labels we found, and excited about others. We found a great deal of new-to-us labels as well, so if you don't recognize some, don't worry. Our goal was to make a list for you to reference just in case you ever did come across them and draw your attention to some others that might be of interest. You can find them all here on our website under the category Label Education. That way, when you are shopping you can get all of your answers in one convenient place, right here.
Label Education Series
Cleaning Supplies
Coffee
Dairy
Eggs
Electronics
Furniture
Mattresses
Meat and Poultry
Seafood
Textiles
If you find a label that isn't on our list, we'd love to do some research and add it to our list, please email us at suggestions@becausehealth.org and we'll check it out.
