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	ECO Ecocert France · Tier 2 Trusted	USDA Organic United States · Tier 1 Gold	Bio Suisse 'Knospe' (Bud) Switzerland · Tier 2 Trusted	? 'Natural' (NOT a certification) Worldwide · Tier 4 Marketing
What it means	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.	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 Swiss organic farmers' federation mark. The Knospe (Bud) is the dominant organic mark in Swiss supermarkets and operates to standards stricter than the Swiss federal organic ordinance.	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.
Scope	Several categories	Food	Food	Several categories
Established	1991	2002	1981	—
Inspection	Annual on-site, ISO 17065-accredited	Annual on-site by USDA-accredited certifier	Annual on-site, bio.inspecta accredited	None
Residue testing	Risk-based per standard	Required on ≥5% of operations annually	Required	None
Guarantees	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.	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.	Whole-farm conversion. Lower nitrogen inputs than the Swiss federal organic baseline. Strong animal welfare requirements. Annual on-site inspection.	Nothing. It is not a certification and there is no body verifying anything.
Does NOT	Ecocert is the certifier, not the standard — the actual rules come from whichever organic regulation the product is certified under.	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.	Switzerland is outside the EU — the Knospe is recognised by the EU under the Switzerland-EU equivalence agreement, but not by USDA without further certification.	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.

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