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	COSMOS-Organic / Natural European Union · Tier 2 Trusted	NASAA Certified Organic (Australia) Australia · Tier 2 Trusted	? 'Natural' (NOT a certification) Worldwide · Tier 4 Marketing	JAS Organic Japan · 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).	National Association for Sustainable Agriculture, Australia. One of seven Australian Department of Agriculture-approved certifiers. IFOAM-accredited; certifies organic and biodynamic produce.	The word 'natural' on packaging is a marketing term, not a certification. In most jurisdictions there's no legal definition, no standard, and no inspection. A product labelled 'natural' can contain synthetic ingredients, pesticides, GMOs, and artificial flavours.	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.
Scope	Cosmetics	Several categories	Several categories	Food
Established	2010	1986	—	2001
Inspection	Annual on-site by COSMOS-accredited certifier	Annual on-site, NASAA-accredited	None	Annual on-site by MAFF-registered certifier
Residue testing	Risk-based	Risk-based	None	Required for high-risk operations
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.	Compliance with the Australian National Standard for Organic and Bio-Dynamic Produce. Annual on-site inspection. Biodynamic certification option.	Nothing. It is not a certification and there is no body verifying anything.	≥95% organic ingredients. No synthetic pesticides, no synthetic fertilizers, no GMOs. Annual inspection by a MAFF-registered certifier.
Does NOT	Doesn't certify clinical effectiveness or skin tolerance.	Australia has multiple competing organic certifiers — NASAA is one of seven, not the dominant national mark (that's ACO).	Doesn't mean organic. Doesn't mean pesticide-free. Doesn't mean GMO-free. Doesn't mean ethically produced. Some markets (e.g. the US FDA on food, EU on cosmetics) place very limited restrictions on the word, but enforcement is weak.	Mutual recognition with the US, EU, and Canada applies to specific product categories — check each agreement before importing.

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