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	? 'Natural' (NOT a certification) Worldwide · Tier 4 Marketing	Canada Organic Biologique Canada · Tier 1 Gold	EU Ecolabel (Flower) European Union · Tier 3 Specialty	Nordic Swan Ecolabel Nordic Countries · Tier 3 Specialty
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.	The federal Canadian organic standard, mandatory on any agricultural product sold across provincial borders or imported as 'organic'.	The European Commission's voluntary environmental label. Covers cleaning products, paper, textiles, electronics, accommodation services. NOT an organic mark.	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.
Scope	Several categories	Food	Several categories	Several categories
Established	—	2009	1992	1989
Inspection	None	Annual on-site by CFIA-accredited certifier	Annual audit by national Ecolabel competent body	On-site + product review by national Ecolabel office
Residue testing	None	Risk-based, conducted by accredited certifiers	Per-category limits	Risk-based per category
Guarantees	Nothing. It is not a certification and there is no body verifying anything.	≥95% organic ingredients (single-ingredient products: 100%). No synthetic pesticides, no GMOs, no irradiation. Annual third-party certification under the Canada Organic Regime.	Lifecycle-based environmental criteria per product category. Restrictions on hazardous chemicals. Annual licence renewal with audit.	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.
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.	Provincial sales-only operations are not legally required to carry it (though many do voluntarily).	Doesn't apply to food. Doesn't mean organic.	Doesn't certify food as organic — Nordic Swan on a food package means lower-environmental-impact, not 'no synthetic pesticides'.

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