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	Nordic Swan Ecolabel Nordic Countries · Tier 3 Specialty	? 'Natural' (NOT a certification) Worldwide · Tier 4 Marketing	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 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.	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	Several categories	Food	Food
Established	1989	—	2005	1987
Inspection	On-site + product review by national Ecolabel office	None	Annual on-site by CNCA-accredited certifier	Annual third-party audit (RA-accredited)
Residue testing	Risk-based per category	None	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.	Nothing. It is not a certification and there is no body verifying anything.	≥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'.	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.	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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