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	$OEKO-TEX Standard 100 logo$ OEKO-TEX Standard 100 Global · Tier 3 Specialty	Bio Suisse 'Knospe' (Bud) Switzerland · Tier 2 Trusted	Bioland Germany · 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.	Tests finished textiles for harmful substances. Important: OEKO-TEX 100 is NOT an organic certification — it certifies that the finished item is free of certain chemicals, regardless of how the fibre was grown.	The Swiss organic farmers' federation mark. The Knospe (Bud) is the dominant organic mark in Swiss supermarkets and operates to standards stricter than the Swiss federal organic ordinance.	Germany's largest organic farmers' association. Bioland-certified farms operate to a stricter private standard than the EU baseline.
Scope	Several categories	Textiles	Food	Food
Established	—	1992	1981	1971
Inspection	None	Annual on-site + lab testing of finished products	Annual on-site, bio.inspecta accredited	Annual on-site by Bioland-accredited inspectors
Residue testing	None	Required (this is the entire point)	Required	Required
Guarantees	Nothing. It is not a certification and there is no body verifying anything.	Finished textile tested against the OEKO-TEX harmful-substance limit list. Limits on heavy metals, formaldehyde, pesticide residue, banned amines, allergenic dyes.	Whole-farm conversion. Lower nitrogen inputs than the Swiss federal organic baseline. Strong animal welfare requirements. Annual on-site inspection.	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.
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.	Does NOT mean organic. Does NOT cover farming, dyeing chemistry beyond the limit list, or social/labour standards. A 100% conventional cotton t-shirt can be OEKO-TEX 100 certified.	Switzerland is outside the EU — the Knospe is recognised by the EU under the Switzerland-EU equivalence agreement, but not by USDA without further certification.	Like Naturland, membership-based — only Bioland-association farms can use the mark.

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.