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	COSMOS-Organic / Natural European Union · Tier 2 Trusted	Bio-Siegel (Germany) Germany · Tier 1 Gold	JAS Organic Japan · Tier 1 Gold	Rainforest Alliance 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.	Japan's national organic standard under the Japanese Agricultural Standard system. The mark must appear on any food sold as 'organic' (有機 or オーガニック) in Japan.	Sustainable-agriculture certification (post-2020 merged standard with UTZ). Covers environmental, social, and economic criteria. NOT an organic mark.
Scope	Cosmetics	Food	Food	Food
Established	2010	2001	2001	1987
Inspection	Annual on-site by COSMOS-accredited certifier	Annual on-site by EU-accredited German control body	Annual on-site by MAFF-registered certifier	Annual third-party audit (RA-accredited)
Residue testing	Risk-based	Risk-based	Required for high-risk operations	Risk-based
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.	≥95% organic ingredients. No synthetic pesticides, no synthetic fertilizers, no GMOs. Annual inspection by a MAFF-registered certifier.	Reduced (not eliminated) synthetic pesticide use, with bans on the most hazardous classes. Forest conservation requirements (no deforestation after the cut-off date). Worker welfare and community development requirements. Annual third-party audit.
Does NOT	Doesn't certify clinical effectiveness or skin tolerance.	Same standard as the EU Leaf — not stricter.	Mutual recognition with the US, EU, and Canada applies to specific product categories — check each agreement before importing.	Allows synthetic pesticides — does NOT meet any organic standard. Often confused with organic but it's a different programme.

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