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	COSMOS-Organic / Natural European Union · Tier 2 Trusted	Bio-Siegel (Germany) Germany · Tier 1 Gold	Debio Ø (Norway) Norway · Tier 2 Trusted	Fairtrade International Global · Tier 3 Specialty
What it means	The leading certification for organic cosmetics in Europe. Two grades: COSMOS Organic (≥95% organic agricultural ingredients) and COSMOS Natural (no organic minimum, but the same restricted-ingredient list).	Germany's national organic mark, owned by the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture. Sits alongside the EU Leaf on most German organic packaging since 2001. Same standard as the EU Leaf — Bio-Siegel is the brand consumers recognise.	Norway's only accredited organic certifier. The Ø-merket is required on any food sold as 'økologisk' in Norway. Operates to EU 2018/848 equivalence plus Norwegian add-ons.	Certifies fair prices and conditions for producers in developing countries — not organic, not environmental. Common on coffee, cocoa, sugar, bananas, tea.
Scope	Cosmetics	Food	Food	Food
Established	2010	2001	1986	1997
Inspection	Annual on-site by COSMOS-accredited certifier	Annual on-site by EU-accredited German control body	Annual on-site by Debio-accredited inspectors	Annual on-site by FLOCERT (independent of Fairtrade International)
Residue testing	Risk-based	Risk-based	Required	Not for organic — Fairtrade alone doesn't test residues
Guarantees	COSMOS Organic: ≥95% organic agricultural ingredients. COSMOS Natural: minimum natural-origin ingredients with banned synthetic restrictions. No GMOs, no parabens, no PEGs, no synthetic fragrances, no SLS/SLES. Biodegradability requirements. Annual on-site audit.	EU baseline organic (EU 2018/848). Annual on-site inspection by accredited German certifier.	EU baseline organic. Annual on-site inspection. Norwegian-specific welfare standards (esp. for cold-climate livestock).	Minimum price floors for producer cooperatives. Fairtrade Premium paid into community-development funds. Bans on the worst forms of child and forced labour. Producer organisations must be small-farmer cooperatives or hired-labour plantations meeting standards.
Does NOT	Doesn't certify clinical effectiveness or skin tolerance.	Same standard as the EU Leaf — not stricter.	Norway is outside the EU — the Ø is recognised under EEA equivalence, not direct EU equivalence.	Doesn't mean organic — many Fairtrade products are conventionally grown. A separate Fairtrade-Organic dual certification exists.

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