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	? 'Natural' (NOT a certification) Worldwide · Tier 4 Marketing	$OEKO-TEX Standard 100 logo$ OEKO-TEX Standard 100 Global · Tier 3 Specialty	EU Ecolabel (Flower) European Union · Tier 3 Specialty	Rainforest Alliance Global · 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.	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 European Commission's voluntary environmental label. Covers cleaning products, paper, textiles, electronics, accommodation services. NOT an organic mark.	Sustainable-agriculture certification (post-2020 merged standard with UTZ). Covers environmental, social, and economic criteria. NOT an organic mark.
Scope	Several categories	Textiles	Several categories	Food
Established	—	1992	1992	1987
Inspection	None	Annual on-site + lab testing of finished products	Annual audit by national Ecolabel competent body	Annual third-party audit (RA-accredited)
Residue testing	None	Required (this is the entire point)	Per-category limits	Risk-based
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.	Lifecycle-based environmental criteria per product category. Restrictions on hazardous chemicals. Annual licence renewal with audit.	Reduced (not eliminated) synthetic pesticide use, with bans on the most hazardous classes. Forest conservation requirements (no deforestation after the cut-off date). Worker welfare and community development requirements. Annual third-party 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.	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.	Doesn't apply to food. Doesn't mean organic.	Allows synthetic pesticides — does NOT meet any organic standard. Often confused with organic but it's a different programme.

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