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	? 'Natural' (NOT a certification) Worldwide · Tier 4 Marketing	COSMOS-Organic / Natural European Union · Tier 2 Trusted	Non-GMO Project Verified United States · Tier 3 Specialty	Demeter International Global · 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.	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).	North America's leading 'no genetically modified organisms' certification. Tests for the presence of GMOs in finished products. NOT organic.	The certification mark for biodynamic agriculture. Stricter than any government organic standard: it covers the entire farm as a closed ecosystem, follows a planting calendar tied to lunar/solar cycles, and bans many practices the baseline organic rules permit.
Scope	Several categories	Cosmetics	Food	Several categories
Established	—	2010	2010	1928
Inspection	None	Annual on-site by COSMOS-accredited certifier	Annual third-party audit + lab testing	Annual on-site by Demeter-accredited inspectors
Residue testing	None	Risk-based	GMO testing only (not pesticide)	Risk-based on top of organic
Guarantees	Nothing. It is not a certification and there is no body verifying anything.	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.	Verified absence of GMO ingredients (with action thresholds, not zero tolerance). Annual third-party verification. Tracing and segregation across the supply chain.	All organic standards PLUS biodynamic preparations and whole-farm planning. Whole-farm certification (not single fields/products). Annual on-site inspection by Demeter-accredited inspectors. Animal welfare standards stricter than baseline organic.
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.	Doesn't certify clinical effectiveness or skin tolerance.	Doesn't mean organic — Non-GMO products can use synthetic pesticides and fertilizers freely.	Biodynamic philosophy includes esoteric elements (lunar planting, herbal preparations) that many scientists view as non-evidence-based — the agronomic outcomes are still good, the underlying claims about cosmic forces are not testable.

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