Buy Organic Online: The Top Websites

Eating organic foods is admittedly the best way to go. The problem is that it can not only be expensive, but it can be hard to find the items that you want in an organic form, especially if you live in a small town! Once again the Internet comes to the rescue with a dizzying array of organic websites willing to deliver your selections directly to your door. Even so, it can be hard to sort through the various online stores, what foods they carry, and, if you are new to organics, you may have questions about what you need or want. The following is a list of the very best sources for organic items on the Internet, with the pros and cons, and other pertinent information you need to make a wise choice that you will love.

Local Harvest is my first choice. It is always best to buy food locally and support the local farmers and artisans as much as possible. With local harvest you get a list of farms and artisans in your area that are utilizing sustainable farming practices, certified humane practices, and are growing organically. Keep in mind that a lot of small farmers may be growing organically but can't legally advertise as being certified organic because the cannot afford the certification. When you are able to visit them and talk to them you are better able to judge their products. They may be using more sustainable, organic, humane methods than a certified organic farm. At Local Harvest you get links for the farmer's markets, the restaurants, farms, groceries, co-ops, online stores, and anything else that may be found with in a certain area. The website is very user friendly, with a clickable map, easy to understand navigation, and even a catalog for things that you may not be able to find locally. Another nice feature of the site is a forum where people can post questions, find answers, and share new finds. There is a place to post items that you are looking for, as well a items that others have to sell or give away. Recent discussions on my local board included organic turkey, The National Animal Identification System (NAIS), and where to find egg cartons. A blog that features different farms, an area to find all the current news that concerns small farms, organic farms, and sustainable farming practices are also easy to find and fun to read. On a scale of 1-10 the Local Harvest site has to get a definite 9.5 . I withhold the last half point because many of the sites have not been updated in years and it is frustrating to go to a site hoping for organic milk and find that they dairy is out of business. It would be good if they took the time to keep their links updated.

Maybe I give preference to this next company because I met my husband and got married in Monterey, California, I don't know. I do know that the food there is among the best in the world, the freshest, the most flavorful. It is as close to eating in the French countryside as I have gotten. They offer free delivery on samplers and gift baskets, and ship everything else by weight. They offer nationwide delivery, a big plus because some of the other places really limit their delivery areas, and they ship for overnight. First thing that I saw was a coupon for 5% off your first order, and an offer of a free bottle of wine with a family pack. Obviously this company is comfortable giving and not just taking. Always a good sign. I checked out the vegetables and found organic heirloom tomatoes, mixed varieties, for 5.49 a lb. This is an excellent way to try different types like;Brandywine, Black Krim, Zebra, and other varieties you might not be familiar with. They carry a full line of groceries, organic fair trade coffees in a number of different Blends and varieties, many types of tea, soft drinks, juices and wines. There are also grains, spices, and everything you could want for your pantry shelf. An added bonus is that they do ship organic meats, and the selection is remarkable. Organic beef, wild caught fish, organic pork, lamb, and buffalo. Shellfish, crab, and even organic caviar is available. In the dairy section there is a selection of farmstead cheeses, organic cheeses of all sorts. Butters, milk, cream and even sheeps' milk! If you are vegan they have all kinds of soy products, including whipped cream, and rice based dairy products as well. The bakery section offers numerous types of organic breads, baked in a brick oven. The raisin nut rye looked especially appealing. If you are in to a raw foods diet they have an area that caters to your needs. Add a bouquet of gorgeous flowers to your order, they have those too. Understand, though, that the shipping charges could be astronomical depending on where you live. If you are not completely satisfied, your money will be cheerfully refunded, or item replaced. I give this site a 9. It was a little crowded, and while it was easily navigated it was visually confusing.

The Organic Mall is just that. They have food, clothing, cleaning supplies, medicines, well, just think of it as your online, organic Super-Target store! Checking through the stores the prices are reasonable. If you are looking for organic cotton fabric, organic sheets for your baby's crib, or a earth friendly gift item it is here. Another click takes you to organic chicken feed and organic dairy feeds, dog and cat foods and various supplies. According to the website the Organic Mall Team travels to trade shows all over the country to bring you the most up to date and highest quality items available. Impressive is both their donation policy and mission statement. It seems that Every time you go through Organic Mall to shop with our companies, we will give a percentage of our proceeds to the following places: Cancer Society, Feed The Homeless, Greenpeace, Habitat, Humane Society, & Missing Children to mention a few. "They really appreciate you shopping at OrganicMall.com!". I give this site an 8. I didn't like it as well as the previous site, possibly because I found it hard to find exactly what I was looking for. I am very image oriented and there were more word descriptions of stores whereas I would have preferred picture links. However, the selection is incredible and it is nice to be able to get anything you are looking for, including fabric, in one spot.

Organic Kingdom offices are located in Orem, Utah.. They do ship internationally, which is a nice plus. Organic Kingdom has been around since 2000. They carry nutritional supplements as well as foods and personal products. They carried several grinds and types of whole wheat flour, although I was disappointed that I could not find organic wheat berries for grinding my own flour. 50 lbs of rolled oats were $44.86, which is about average for this amount. Again, keep in mind that you will have to pay shipping based on weight. It is always a good idea when buying food items online to try to order enough to make it worth while, even forming a co-op with friends of like mind. This company gets only a 7 from me because the left off coffee. Coffee is available in organic blends, as well as fair trade and organic, or shade grown and organic. The selections of the organic coffees tends to be minimal in my location so a company that provides them will rank higher on my personal list.

Greenshopper.com is an excellent resource of almost everything. It is associated with Amazon to be able to offer a wide selection of products, and 10% of the money earned goes to support environmental issues. This would be the place to go before you went to Amazon. You do use your Amazon account to order the items, and therefore you have the Amazon experience and guarantees behind your purchases. Greenshopper does not carry ALL of the organic and environmentally friendly items that Amazon does, however so you may need to still check Amazon. I give this site a 9. It is easy to navigate, and environmentally friendly, and they do donate. However, the selection is smaller than many of the other places. This will be one to keep your eye on as it grows.

Amazon is last but not necessarily least. It is the one you may not think of when you think of buying earth friendly or organic, and truly, the company sells organics not because it is the right thing to do but because they make money at it. That being said, typing the word organic in the search brings up pages and pages of items. I did not know that Kraft did an organic macaroni and cheese but here it is on Amazon! Organic bleach free disposable diapers are available. Disposable diapers are not good for the environment, however, for a long car trip or vacation they are very, very convenient! I even came up with something I never would have thought of on my own, organic brake pads for your car! I did a web search because I was not sure about this, machinery is not my forte, however it seems that many brake pads contain formaldehyde, asbestos and other not very nice things and you can actually buy types of brake pads that do not. I do believe, though, that the Amazon brake pad refers to the material it is made of, not the eco-friendliness of it. Searching for organic in the Gourmet Foods section brings up numerous types of coffees, teas, chocolates, and almost everything else. The prices are better than the purely organic online stores overall. Rocamojo Organic Gourmet Coffee, Wild French Roast, 3 lbs Whole Bean, sells for 21.64, which is comparable to the price at my local grocery for gourmet beans. Himilaya pink salt was among the offerings, as well as thousands of items that you just can't find anywhere else. I would give Amazon a 10 because their site is easy to navigate, however they carry things that are NOT earth friendly in the least, and as stated earlier, their desire to make money is the reason behind the organics, rather than the desire to do anything socially responsible, in my opinion. While they carry millions of environmentally friendly products I could find nothing on the business practices of Amazon its' self.

Shopping for organics online is an excellent way to support the environment and environmentally friendly companies. The carbon emissions caused by the shipping, would theoretically be off-set by what you are buying. The ability to find nearly anything you are looking for online is one of the best parts of the computer age.

Once again, remember to read the product descriptions carefully. Keep in mind that you will be paying shipping and possibly handling charges on top of the prices that you are paying. If a product is not as described, or not fresh, or there is some other problem be sure to let the company know immediately. Read all the company policies carefully so that you know what you are, and are not getting. Companies that sell organic foods and ethically produced products are often owned and run by people who genuinely care about the environment and the quality of life. However, like in anything else, some are not. As always, let the buyer beware.