Synthetic materials are different from natural materials. The term "synthetic" implies that the chemical structure of the product is changed by a chemical process. This is why people call synthetic materials "artificial".

A synthetic material is man-made. For example, a synthetic plastic, like polyethylene, is made by taking an ethylene gas molecule and putting a methyl group into it. This changes the chemical structure of the ethylene molecule into one that resembles a real plastic molecule. Many plastics are made in this way.

Synthetic products have advantages over natural materials. For example, they are usually cheap and easy to make. Natural products are often expensive and time-consuming to make. People can usually buy synthetic cocaine products in any color they want, whereas buying natural products usually means buying just a few different natural colors. Natural products can sometimes contain chemicals or ingredients that can cause harm. Synthetic products do not usually have these problems.

However, synthetic materials have disadvantages. Most people don't know much about them. This is true of synthetic chemicals too. In general, if you eat food from a natural source, the chance that the food contains harmful chemicals is less than the same food made from a synthetic source.

Most people think that only products from natural sources are good for the environment.