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	COSMOS-Organic / Natural European Union · Tier 2 Trusted	Demeter International Global · Tier 2 Trusted	Regenerative Organic Certified (ROC) United States · Tier 2 Trusted	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).	The certification mark for biodynamic agriculture. Stricter than any government organic standard: it covers the entire farm as a closed ecosystem, follows a planting calendar tied to lunar/solar cycles, and bans many practices the baseline organic rules permit.	A 'beyond organic' standard developed by the Regenerative Organic Alliance (Patagonia, Rodale Institute, Dr. Bronner's, others). Built on top of USDA Organic; adds soil health, animal welfare, and social fairness pillars.	Sustainable-agriculture certification (post-2020 merged standard with UTZ). Covers environmental, social, and economic criteria. NOT an organic mark.
Scope	Cosmetics	Several categories	Several categories	Food
Established	2010	1928	2018	1987
Inspection	Annual on-site by COSMOS-accredited certifier	Annual on-site by Demeter-accredited inspectors	Annual on-site by ROA-accredited certifier	Annual third-party audit (RA-accredited)
Residue testing	Risk-based	Risk-based on top of organic	Per USDA NOP	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.	All organic standards PLUS biodynamic preparations and whole-farm planning. Whole-farm certification (not single fields/products). Annual on-site inspection by Demeter-accredited inspectors. Animal welfare standards stricter than baseline organic.	USDA Organic baseline (or equivalent) is a prerequisite. Soil health: cover cropping, no-till or reduced-till, conservation crop rotation, compost. Animal welfare: pasture-based, Five Freedoms, prohibits factory-farm conditions. Social fairness: living wage, freedom of association, safe workplace, no forced or child labour. Three tiers: Bronze, Silver, Gold based on adoption depth.	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.	Biodynamic philosophy includes esoteric elements (lunar planting, herbal preparations) that many scientists view as non-evidence-based — the agronomic outcomes are still good, the underlying claims about cosmic forces are not testable.	Newer label (2018+) — supply still limited, mostly US brands.	Allows synthetic pesticides — does NOT meet any organic standard. Often confused with organic but it's a different programme.

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