All certifications

Side-by-side

Compare certifications.

Up to four certifications, side by side. Choose which ones

	COSMOS-Organic / Natural European Union · Tier 2 Trusted	USDA Organic United States · Tier 1 Gold	EU Ecolabel (Flower) European Union · Tier 3 Specialty	ECO Ecocert 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 US Department of Agriculture's national organic standard. The green-and-white seal is the legal mark for any food sold as 'organic' in the United States.	The European Commission's voluntary environmental label. Covers cleaning products, paper, textiles, electronics, accommodation services. NOT an organic mark.	France-based independent certifier operating in 130+ countries. One of the world's largest organic + cosmetics + textile certifiers. The 'Ecocert' wordmark on a package usually means Ecocert was the accredited body that ran the inspection against the national/EU standard.
Scope	Cosmetics	Food	Several categories	Several categories
Established	2010	2002	1992	1991
Inspection	Annual on-site by COSMOS-accredited certifier	Annual on-site by USDA-accredited certifier	Annual audit by national Ecolabel competent body	Annual on-site, ISO 17065-accredited
Residue testing	Risk-based	Required on ≥5% of operations annually	Per-category limits	Risk-based per standard
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.	At least 95% of ingredients are certified organic (the '100% Organic' variant requires every ingredient). No synthetic pesticides, no synthetic fertilizers, no GMOs, no sewage sludge, no irradiation. Annual on-site inspection by a USDA-accredited certifier. Residue testing on at least 5% of certified operations each year.	Lifecycle-based environmental criteria per product category. Restrictions on hazardous chemicals. Annual licence renewal with audit.	Inspection against the relevant national or private organic standard (EU 2018/848, USDA NOP, COSMOS, GOTS, Fair for Life, etc.). Annual on-site inspection. Accredited under multiple national systems including USDA NOP and EU 2018/848.
Does NOT	Doesn't certify clinical effectiveness or skin tolerance.	Doesn't certify nutrition, taste, or animal welfare specifically (separate marks like AWA cover welfare). Doesn't guarantee local production — a 'USDA Organic' product can be grown anywhere with an accredited inspector.	Doesn't apply to food. Doesn't mean organic.	Ecocert is the certifier, not the standard — the actual rules come from whichever organic regulation the product is certified under.

Choose up to 4 (4 chosen)

That's four — remove one to add another.

Stay in the loop

Get notified when we publish new articles, updates, and organic guides. No spam, just honest content, straight to your inbox.

Compare certifications · Organic.is