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	Fairtrade International Global · Tier 3 Specialty	USDA Organic United States · Tier 1 Gold	EU Ecolabel (Flower) European Union · Tier 3 Specialty	JAS Organic Japan · Tier 1 Gold
What it means	Certifies fair prices and conditions for producers in developing countries — not organic, not environmental. Common on coffee, cocoa, sugar, bananas, tea.	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.	Japan's national organic standard under the Japanese Agricultural Standard system. The mark must appear on any food sold as 'organic' (有機 or オーガニック) in Japan.
Scope	Food	Food	Several categories	Food
Established	1997	2002	1992	2001
Inspection	Annual on-site by FLOCERT (independent of Fairtrade International)	Annual on-site by USDA-accredited certifier	Annual audit by national Ecolabel competent body	Annual on-site by MAFF-registered certifier
Residue testing	Not for organic — Fairtrade alone doesn't test residues	Required on ≥5% of operations annually	Per-category limits	Required for high-risk operations
Guarantees	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.	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.	≥95% organic ingredients. No synthetic pesticides, no synthetic fertilizers, no GMOs. Annual inspection by a MAFF-registered certifier.
Does NOT	Doesn't mean organic — many Fairtrade products are conventionally grown. A separate Fairtrade-Organic dual certification exists.	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.	Mutual recognition with the US, EU, and Canada applies to specific product categories — check each agreement before importing.

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