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	Nordic Swan Ecolabel Nordic Countries · Tier 3 Specialty	Bio Suisse 'Knospe' (Bud) Switzerland · Tier 2 Trusted	China Organic (COFCC) China · Tier 1 Gold	Rainforest Alliance Global · Tier 3 Specialty
What it means	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.	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.	China's national organic certification under the Certification and Accreditation Administration. Mandatory on any product sold as '有机' (organic) in mainland China.	Sustainable-agriculture certification (post-2020 merged standard with UTZ). Covers environmental, social, and economic criteria. NOT an organic mark.
Scope	Several categories	Food	Food	Food
Established	1989	1981	2005	1987
Inspection	On-site + product review by national Ecolabel office	Annual on-site, bio.inspecta accredited	Annual on-site by CNCA-accredited certifier	Annual third-party audit (RA-accredited)
Residue testing	Risk-based per category	Required	Required	Risk-based
Guarantees	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.	Whole-farm conversion. Lower nitrogen inputs than the Swiss federal organic baseline. Strong animal welfare requirements. Annual on-site inspection.	≥95% organic ingredients. No synthetic pesticides, no GMOs. Annual third-party certification. Each certified product carries a unique 17-digit traceability code.	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 certify food as organic — Nordic Swan on a food package means lower-environmental-impact, not 'no synthetic pesticides'.	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.	Imported organic foods must be re-certified under the Chinese standard — overseas certifications alone are not accepted for the 有机 label.	Allows synthetic pesticides — does NOT meet any organic standard. Often confused with organic but it's a different programme.

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