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	? 'Natural' (NOT a certification) Worldwide · Tier 4 Marketing	EU Ecolabel (Flower) European Union · Tier 3 Specialty	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.	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.	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	—	1992	1989	2001
Inspection	None	Annual audit by national Ecolabel competent body	On-site + product review by national Ecolabel office	Annual on-site by MAFF-registered certifier
Residue testing	None	Per-category limits	Risk-based per category	Required for high-risk operations
Guarantees	Nothing. It is not a certification and there is no body verifying anything.	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.	≥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.	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'.	Mutual recognition with the US, EU, and Canada applies to specific product categories — check each agreement before importing.

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