When you write about green issues all day, you get used to a few things. You get used to pictures of cute polar bears, dire climate change warnings, and people hiding you on Facebook because they just can’t click on another article about organic lipstick. Most of all, you get used to navigating the field of eco-labels much like one might dance around a mine field.

What am I talking about? This chicken is labeled “fresh.” But that just means it hasn’t been frozen and could have been killed months ago. BOOM! These eggs are “free-range.” Poultry for meat and poultry for eggs have two totally different standards in our country. So what are exactly are you getting? BOOM BOOM! This moisturizer is organic because it contains “organic extracts.” But what about the rest of the ingredients? SMASH! (The booms were getting a wee redundant.)

And with the holiday shopping season upon us, it’s more important than ever to understand what you’re buying. Over the last decade, environmental labels have come out in full force. So here’s a look at all the labels you might encounter in the wild, world of green labels. (We are referring to the American ratings system – the EU has a different set of standards. Another article, another time.)

ANTIBIOTIC-FREE: This means that, yes, your meat comes from animals that are free of antibiotics. However, if an animal gets sick, it is required to be treated. Consequently, it must be moved off the organic farms.

HORMONE-FREE: This means that your meat product is free of hormones. However, did you know that it is illegal in the USA to add hormones to meat? In other words, all U.S. poultry is already hormone free.

BIODYNAMIC: This is a method of organic farming that treats farms as unified and individual organisms, emphasizing the development and interrelationship of the soil, plants, and animals as a self-nourishing system without external inputs. There is very limited ability to establish and verify this ingredient. You just can’t claim something is biodynamic – it must be certified by an outside source. These standards can sometimes exceed organic standards.

CERTIFIED HUMANE: This means that the animals were treated in a human manner. This label is highly regulated. Combined with an organic label, it is about as good as you’re going to get.

FAIR TRADE: This movement advocates the payment of a higher price to producers as well as social and environmental standards, focusing on exports from developing countries to developed countries. This is another highly regulated standard.

ENERGY STAR: This is the rating the EPA gives electronic products that fit an environmental standard. However, critics notes that the EPA standards have been rather lax lately due to lack of government oversight.

CRUELTY-FREE: There are several labels that require humane treatment of animals. Peta has their own label. Leaping Bunny assesses if the company has a policy on animal testing by company-level certification through an independent group. It does not inspect the product itself.

Didn’t see a label you have questions about? To learn more about environmental labels, check out the database from Greenerchoices.org.  You can also listen to this fantastic podcast of The Leonard Lopate Show: Eco Labels.