All certifications

Side-by-side

Compare certifications.

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

	? 'Natural' (NOT a certification) Worldwide · Tier 4 Marketing	BioGro New Zealand New Zealand · Tier 1 Gold	Nordic Swan Ecolabel Nordic Countries · Tier 3 Specialty	JAS Organic Japan · Tier 1 Gold
What it means	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.	New Zealand's largest organic certifier. Recognised by the EU, US, and Japan under their respective import-equivalence regimes.	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.	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	Several categories	Several categories	Several categories	Food
Established	—	1983	1989	2001
Inspection	None	Annual on-site, IFOAM-accredited	On-site + product review by national Ecolabel office	Annual on-site by MAFF-registered certifier
Residue testing	None	Risk-based	Risk-based per category	Required for high-risk operations
Guarantees	Nothing. It is not a certification and there is no body verifying anything.	≥95% organic ingredients. No synthetic pesticides, no GMOs. Annual on-site inspection. Covers food, textiles, and personal care under separate standards.	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.	≥95% organic ingredients. No synthetic pesticides, no synthetic fertilizers, no GMOs. Annual inspection by a MAFF-registered certifier.
Does NOT	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.	New Zealand has no single legally-mandated 'organic' definition — voluntary certification is the norm.	Doesn't certify food as organic — Nordic Swan on a food package means lower-environmental-impact, not 'no synthetic pesticides'.	Mutual recognition with the US, EU, and Canada applies to specific product categories — check each agreement before importing.

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