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	COSMOS-Organic / Natural European Union · Tier 2 Trusted	? 'Natural' (NOT a certification) Worldwide · Tier 4 Marketing	Nordic Swan Ecolabel Nordic Countries · Tier 3 Specialty	AB (Agriculture Biologique) France · 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.	The official environmental label of the Nordic countries (Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Iceland). Covers ~60 product categories from cleaning products to hotels — NOT specifically an organic standard.	France's national organic mark, owned by the Ministry of Agriculture. Sits alongside the EU Leaf on virtually all French organic packaging.
Scope	Cosmetics	Several categories	Several categories	Food
Established	2010	—	1989	1985
Inspection	Annual on-site by COSMOS-accredited certifier	None	On-site + product review by national Ecolabel office	Annual on-site by French-accredited certifiers
Residue testing	Risk-based	None	Risk-based per category	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.	Nothing. It is not a certification and there is no body verifying anything.	Lifecycle-based environmental criteria for the product category. Restrictions on hazardous chemicals. Recyclability and packaging requirements. Audited every 3-5 years against an updated standard.	EU baseline organic (EU 2018/848). Annual on-site inspection by accredited French certifiers (Ecocert, Bureau Veritas, Qualité-France).
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.	Doesn't certify food as organic — Nordic Swan on a food package means lower-environmental-impact, not 'no synthetic pesticides'.	Same standard as the EU Leaf — AB is the brand consumers recognise, not a stricter rule.

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