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	? 'Natural' (NOT a certification) Worldwide · Tier 4 Marketing	Bioland Germany · Tier 2 Trusted	EU Ecolabel (Flower) European Union · Tier 3 Specialty	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.	The European Commission's voluntary environmental label. Covers cleaning products, paper, textiles, electronics, accommodation services. NOT an organic mark.	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	Several categories	Cosmetics
Established	—	1971	1992	2010
Inspection	None	Annual on-site by Bioland-accredited inspectors	Annual audit by national Ecolabel competent body	Annual on-site by COSMOS-accredited certifier
Residue testing	None	Required	Per-category limits	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.	Lifecycle-based environmental criteria per product category. Restrictions on hazardous chemicals. Annual licence renewal with audit.	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.	Doesn't apply to food. Doesn't mean organic.	Doesn't certify clinical effectiveness or skin tolerance.

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