All certifications

Side-by-side

Compare certifications.

Up to four certifications, side by side. Choose which ones

	? 'Natural' (NOT a certification) Worldwide · Tier 4 Marketing	JAS Organic Japan · Tier 1 Gold	Bioland Germany · Tier 2 Trusted	EU Ecolabel (Flower) European Union · 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.	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.	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.
Scope	Several categories	Food	Food	Several categories
Established	—	2001	1971	1992
Inspection	None	Annual on-site by MAFF-registered certifier	Annual on-site by Bioland-accredited inspectors	Annual audit by national Ecolabel competent body
Residue testing	None	Required for high-risk operations	Required	Per-category limits
Guarantees	Nothing. It is not a certification and there is no body verifying anything.	≥95% organic ingredients. No synthetic pesticides, no synthetic fertilizers, no GMOs. Annual inspection by a MAFF-registered certifier.	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.
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.	Mutual recognition with the US, EU, and Canada applies to specific product categories — check each agreement before importing.	Like Naturland, membership-based — only Bioland-association farms can use the mark.	Doesn't apply to food. Doesn't mean organic.

Choose up to 4 (4 chosen)

That's four — remove one to add another.

Stay in the loop

Get notified when we publish new articles, updates, and organic guides. No spam, just honest content, straight to your inbox.

Compare certifications · Organic.is