Unless you've been living under a rock for the past couple of decades, I'm sure you're aware that pollution and global warming are ever-increasing problems in our society. And, recently, there has been a major boom in the production and purchase of "organic" products, everything from food, to fabric -- even beauty products are jumping on the bandwagon, but what do these new labels mean?

If you are anything like me, you can easily become confused by all the verbage and symbols that are posted on products. It's almost as if you need a degree in Label Reading to be able to properly determine what you are eating or putting on your face. So, to help you decipher a few of them, here's what I found out about some of the new icons popping up everywhere:




Ecocert: Ninety-five percent of the farmed ingredients in these products adhere to the organic standards approved by the French government.

Green-e: This icon signals that renewable energy sources (such as wind and solar power) were used while making the product. Green-e, a consumer protection program, awards this seal.

Soil Association: For products labeled organic, the seal from this U.K. charity for organic farming certifies they contain at least 95 percent organic ingredients.

Certified Natural Cosmetics: These products meet the European Union natural-ingredients rules and don't have any of the 1,000 chemicals banned by the EU.

USDA Organic: Created by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, this seal indicates a product should be at least 95 percent organic.

Certified Organic: Also created by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, this is not actually a seal or symbol. Instead, processed products that contain at least 70 percent organic ingredients can use the phrase "made with organic ingredients" and list up to three of the organic ingredients or food groups on the principal display panel. The USDA seal cannot be used anywhere on the package.

FSC: Using at least 10 percent of their wood and paper from responsibly managed forests, these products are certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).