Sustainable, green and eco-friendly are often used interchangeably by people to describe a sustainable product. Often ethical is poured into the mix as well. These terms are similar, however, none of these terms equals organic.
Sustainable is a real term meant to describe products or actions that help sustain, and in some cases, protect this planet's resources, such as energy, water and air. Some also believe that sustainable actions or products can help improve this planet or help stabilize the mostly disruptive current relationship that people have with the planet.
That said, there's no rigid definition of sustainable, green or eco-friendly. What's sustainable to one, is not sustainable enough for another.
For example, organic food is sustainable to a point, being that it cuts down on pesticides and other harmful conventional farming and manufacturing methods that may harm the planet. Still, if you take perfectly organic carrots, package them in plastic made of non-renewable oil and ship those carrots halfway around the world, those carrots are much less eco-friendly then when they popped up out of the ground.
So, just because a product is organic, doesn't mean it's actually sustainable or good for the planet.
These terms get mixed up the opposite way as well. None of these terms (sustainable, eco-friendly, green) are official labels. Anyone can say, "My product is sustainable" without any worries, because unlike real organics, sustainability is not regulated. Much like the term natural, all of these terms are popular, but not backed up by any certification agency or official rules.
For example, some people think that buying carton of strawberries that says "eco-friendly" somewhere on the packaging means they're getting a product that's both green and organic, but that's simply not true. Real organic berries would be officially certified organic and would wear the USDA Organic Seal, unless those strawberries were grown by an individual who is exempt from organic certification.
If someone calls their product sustainable it could mean that it’s better for you or the planet, but it's not a hard and fast rule, more of a buy at your own risk (or after you research said product) rule. In order to be truly sustainable, green or eco-friendly, a product should be grown with methods or made out of materials that can be harvested or manufactured with less of a negative impact on the planet.
In many cases, sustainable is more a marketing term than anything else.
Example of when the term “sustainable” is used INCORRECTLY in regards to organics:
Three chocolate companies market themselves as "sustainable." Chocolate company number one is certified organic but they buy non-fair-trade cocoa beans, paying non-living wages to their factory workers. Company number one, also uses all plastic to package their products and doesn't offset their shipping emissions. Chocolate company number two is not certified organic, doesn't use organic farming practices and uses unfair labor practices but does package their chocolate in recycled paper. Chocolate company number three is Fair Trade, but not organic, doesn't offset emissions and packages their chocolates in green colored virgin plastic.
None of the companies above is sustainable. Company one can be called organic, but they're not doing anything that's sustainable or ethical. Company two does one sustainable thing - they use recycled paper packaging, but that's a very small step and not enough of a leap to make this a sustainable company. Company three is simply Fair Trade, not organic or sustainable.
Example of when the term “sustainable” is used CORRECTLY in regards to organics:
Two honey companies, one that is certified organic and one that isn't due to exemption, both use organic methods and call themselves “sustainable." Beyond using organic methods, both companies also use clean recycled jars and recycled cardboard for their packaging, plus they print all their labels with non-toxic ink. Both companies offset shipping emissions, have a strong local market business base and treat their bees well. In this case it's appropriate to call either company organic and sustainable.
