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	? 'Natural' (NOT a certification) Worldwide · Tier 4 Marketing	EU Ecolabel (Flower) European Union · Tier 3 Specialty	USDA Organic United States · Tier 1 Gold	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 European Commission's voluntary environmental label. Covers cleaning products, paper, textiles, electronics, accommodation services. NOT an organic mark.	The US Department of Agriculture's national organic standard. The green-and-white seal is the legal mark for any food sold as 'organic' in the United States.	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	Several categories	Food	Several categories
Established	—	1992	2002	1989
Inspection	None	Annual audit by national Ecolabel competent body	Annual on-site by USDA-accredited certifier	On-site + product review by national Ecolabel office
Residue testing	None	Per-category limits	Required on ≥5% of operations annually	Risk-based per category
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.	At least 95% of ingredients are certified organic (the '100% Organic' variant requires every ingredient). No synthetic pesticides, no synthetic fertilizers, no GMOs, no sewage sludge, no irradiation. Annual on-site inspection by a USDA-accredited certifier. Residue testing on at least 5% of certified operations each year.	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.	Doesn't apply to food. Doesn't mean organic.	Doesn't certify nutrition, taste, or animal welfare specifically (separate marks like AWA cover welfare). Doesn't guarantee local production — a 'USDA Organic' product can be grown anywhere with an accredited inspector.	Doesn't certify food as organic — Nordic Swan on a food package means lower-environmental-impact, not 'no synthetic pesticides'.

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