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	Bioland Germany · Tier 2 Trusted	Debio Ø (Norway) Norway · Tier 2 Trusted	COSMOS-Organic / Natural European Union · Tier 2 Trusted
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.	Germany's largest organic farmers' association. Bioland-certified farms operate to a stricter private standard than the EU baseline.	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 leading certification for organic cosmetics in Europe. Two grades: COSMOS Organic (≥95% organic agricultural ingredients) and COSMOS Natural (no organic minimum, but the same restricted-ingredient list).
Scope	Several categories	Food	Food	Cosmetics
Established	—	1971	1986	2010
Inspection	None	Annual on-site by Bioland-accredited inspectors	Annual on-site by Debio-accredited inspectors	Annual on-site by COSMOS-accredited certifier
Residue testing	None	Required	Required	Risk-based
Guarantees	Nothing. It is not a certification and there is no body verifying anything.	Whole-farm conversion (no parallel conventional production). Lower permitted nitrogen inputs than EU baseline. Animal welfare standards stricter than EU baseline. Annual on-site inspection.	EU baseline organic. Annual on-site inspection. Norwegian-specific welfare standards (esp. for cold-climate livestock).	COSMOS Organic: ≥95% organic agricultural ingredients. COSMOS Natural: minimum natural-origin ingredients with banned synthetic restrictions. No GMOs, no parabens, no PEGs, no synthetic fragrances, no SLS/SLES. Biodegradability requirements. Annual on-site audit.
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.	Like Naturland, membership-based — only Bioland-association farms can use the mark.	Norway is outside the EU — the Ø is recognised under EEA equivalence, not direct EU equivalence.	Doesn't certify clinical effectiveness or skin tolerance.

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