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	Demeter International Global · Tier 2 Trusted	Rainforest Alliance Global · Tier 3 Specialty	Fairtrade International Global · Tier 3 Specialty	EU Ecolabel (Flower) European Union · Tier 3 Specialty
What it means	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.	Sustainable-agriculture certification (post-2020 merged standard with UTZ). Covers environmental, social, and economic criteria. NOT an organic mark.	Certifies fair prices and conditions for producers in developing countries — not organic, not environmental. Common on coffee, cocoa, sugar, bananas, tea.	The European Commission's voluntary environmental label. Covers cleaning products, paper, textiles, electronics, accommodation services. NOT an organic mark.
Scope	Several categories	Food	Food	Several categories
Established	1928	1987	1997	1992
Inspection	Annual on-site by Demeter-accredited inspectors	Annual third-party audit (RA-accredited)	Annual on-site by FLOCERT (independent of Fairtrade International)	Annual audit by national Ecolabel competent body
Residue testing	Risk-based on top of organic	Risk-based	Not for organic — Fairtrade alone doesn't test residues	Per-category limits
Guarantees	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.	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.	Minimum price floors for producer cooperatives. Fairtrade Premium paid into community-development funds. Bans on the worst forms of child and forced labour. Producer organisations must be small-farmer cooperatives or hired-labour plantations meeting standards.	Lifecycle-based environmental criteria per product category. Restrictions on hazardous chemicals. Annual licence renewal with audit.
Does NOT	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.	Allows synthetic pesticides — does NOT meet any organic standard. Often confused with organic but it's a different programme.	Doesn't mean organic — many Fairtrade products are conventionally grown. A separate Fairtrade-Organic dual certification exists.	Doesn't apply to food. Doesn't mean organic.

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