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	COSMOS-Organic / Natural European Union · Tier 2 Trusted	? 'Natural' (NOT a certification) Worldwide · Tier 4 Marketing	AB (Agriculture Biologique) France · Tier 2 Trusted	IFM IFOAM — Organics International Global · Tier 2 Trusted
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 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.	France's national organic mark, owned by the Ministry of Agriculture. Sits alongside the EU Leaf on virtually all French organic packaging.	The international umbrella body for the organic movement. Not a product label — IFOAM accredits other certifiers worldwide via the IFOAM Family of Standards. If a cert is 'IFOAM-accredited' it has been benchmarked to a globally consistent baseline.
Scope	Cosmetics	Several categories	Food	Several categories
Established	2010	—	1985	1972
Inspection	Annual on-site by COSMOS-accredited certifier	None	Annual on-site by French-accredited certifiers	Periodic review of accredited certifier bodies
Residue testing	Risk-based	None	Risk-based	Delegated to 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.	Nothing. It is not a certification and there is no body verifying anything.	EU baseline organic (EU 2018/848). Annual on-site inspection by accredited French certifiers (Ecocert, Bureau Veritas, Qualité-France).	Accredited certifiers meet the IFOAM Norms and the IFOAM Family of Standards. Independent peer review of certifier governance, inspection rigor, and conflict-of-interest controls.
Does NOT	Doesn't certify clinical effectiveness or skin tolerance.	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.	Same standard as the EU Leaf — AB is the brand consumers recognise, not a stricter rule.	Does NOT certify products directly — only certifiers. Look for the underlying national / private mark on the package.

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