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	COSMOS-Organic / Natural European Union · Tier 2 Trusted	Bioland Germany · Tier 2 Trusted	Rainforest Alliance Global · Tier 3 Specialty	Canada Organic Biologique Canada · Tier 1 Gold
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 largest organic farmers' association. Bioland-certified farms operate to a stricter private standard than the EU baseline.	Sustainable-agriculture certification (post-2020 merged standard with UTZ). Covers environmental, social, and economic criteria. NOT an organic mark.	The federal Canadian organic standard, mandatory on any agricultural product sold across provincial borders or imported as 'organic'.
Scope	Cosmetics	Food	Food	Food
Established	2010	1971	1987	2009
Inspection	Annual on-site by COSMOS-accredited certifier	Annual on-site by Bioland-accredited inspectors	Annual third-party audit (RA-accredited)	Annual on-site by CFIA-accredited certifier
Residue testing	Risk-based	Required	Risk-based	Risk-based, conducted by accredited certifiers
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.	Whole-farm conversion (no parallel conventional production). Lower permitted nitrogen inputs than EU baseline. Animal welfare standards stricter than EU baseline. Annual on-site inspection.	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.	≥95% organic ingredients (single-ingredient products: 100%). No synthetic pesticides, no GMOs, no irradiation. Annual third-party certification under the Canada Organic Regime.
Does NOT	Doesn't certify clinical effectiveness or skin tolerance.	Like Naturland, membership-based — only Bioland-association farms can use the mark.	Allows synthetic pesticides — does NOT meet any organic standard. Often confused with organic but it's a different programme.	Provincial sales-only operations are not legally required to carry it (though many do voluntarily).

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