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	Global Organic Textile Standard Global · Tier 2 Trusted	Nordic Swan Ecolabel Nordic Countries · Tier 3 Specialty	Debio Ø (Norway) Norway · Tier 2 Trusted	USDA Organic United States · Tier 1 Gold
What it means	The strictest, most widely-recognised standard for organic textiles. Covers the full supply chain from organic fibre to finished garment, with environmental AND social criteria.	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.	Norway's only accredited organic certifier. The Ø-merket is required on any food sold as 'økologisk' in Norway. Operates to EU 2018/848 equivalence plus Norwegian add-ons.	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.
Scope	Textiles	Several categories	Food	Food
Established	2002	1989	1986	2002
Inspection	Annual on-site, IOAS-accredited	On-site + product review by national Ecolabel office	Annual on-site by Debio-accredited inspectors	Annual on-site by USDA-accredited certifier
Residue testing	Required for finished products	Risk-based per category	Required	Required on ≥5% of operations annually
Guarantees	≥70% certified-organic natural fibre (the 'organic' grade requires ≥95%). Restricted dyes, no chlorine bleach, no formaldehyde, no banned heavy metals. Wastewater treatment requirements. Social standards based on ILO core conventions (no child labour, no forced labour, fair wages, safe workplace). Annual on-site inspection by IOAS-accredited certifier.	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. Annual on-site inspection. Norwegian-specific welfare standards (esp. for cold-climate livestock).	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.
Does NOT	Doesn't cover non-textile components (zips, buttons, prints) beyond the chemical-restriction list.	Doesn't certify food as organic — Nordic Swan on a food package means lower-environmental-impact, not 'no synthetic pesticides'.	Norway is outside the EU — the Ø is recognised under EEA equivalence, not direct EU equivalence.	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.

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