Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about gifting with Big Mesa Gifts. Can't find what you're looking for? Reach out — we're always happy to help.
We built Big Mesa Gifts around a simple belief: the things we give and receive should be good for people and good for the earth. That means understanding what is behind every product, not just what it looks like on the surface. These are the questions we hear most often, answered as plainly as we know how.
The word "organic" is used a lot and does not always mean the same thing. Here is what it means to us.
For textiles, the law allows a product to be labeled organic even if up to 30% of its fiber comes from conventional, chemically grown sources. That label can be misleading. When we say a product is 100% organic, we mean every fiber in it was grown without synthetic pesticides, herbicides, or GMOs. No blending, no exceptions. This is the standard we hold our cotton and linen products to.
For food, we look at every ingredient. Our chocolates and chocolate caramels carry USDA Organic certification, one of the most rigorously audited standards in the country. For products like our vegan caramels, every ingredient is either certified organic or a natural mineral, like Maine sea salt. No synthetic additives, no shortcuts.
For candles, clean ingredient sourcing is non-negotiable. Whether a candle in our store is made with pure American beeswax and sustainably sourced essential oils, or with certified organic plant-based wax and organic essential oils, it will never contain synthetic fragrance, phthalates, paraffin, or petroleum-based ingredients. Where organic certification applies to candle ingredients, it is noted on the product page.
Every great find in our store begins with this question: is it truly clean? 100% Organic is where we start, and transparent sourcing is the standard we hold all the way through.
The Global Organic Textile Standard is widely recognized as the most comprehensive certification available for organic textiles. What sets it apart is how far it reaches.
Most people assume organic certification covers the fiber — the cotton field, the linen plant. GOTS goes much further. It follows the product through every stage of its life: from the soil where the fiber was grown, through spinning, weaving, dyeing, finishing, and packaging. At every step, it prohibits toxic dyes, heavy metals, synthetic chemical finishes, and harmful processing aids. It also requires fair labor practices throughout the supply chain.
A GOTS label does not just tell you the fiber started clean. It tells you it stayed clean all the way to your hands.
We carry both 100% organic cotton and linen products and GOTS certified products. Where GOTS certification applies, it is noted on the product page. Achieving and maintaining it requires independent third-party audits at every level of production. When you see it, the work behind it is real.
GOTS and OEKO-TEX Standard 100 answer two different questions, and both matter.
GOTS asks: how was this product made? Was the fiber grown organically? Were harmful dyes and chemicals kept out of the process? Were workers treated fairly?
OEKO-TEX asks: what is actually in this finished product, right now, that you are holding? It tests every component — including threads, buttons, zippers, dyes, and linings — for more than 100 harmful substances: formaldehyde, heavy metals, pesticide residues, allergenic dyes, and others. If the product passes, every part of it has been independently lab tested and confirmed safe for skin contact, including for babies and people with sensitive skin.
Together, these two certifications cover the full story of a textile: how it was grown, how it was made, and what is present in the product you hold. We carry products that meet one or both of these standards. The specifics are always listed on the product page.
Think of GOTS as the process and OEKO-TEX as the proof. When a product carries both, you have the most complete picture available.