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	Nordic Swan Ecolabel Nordic Countries · Tier 3 Specialty	Naturland Germany · Tier 2 Trusted	? 'Natural' (NOT a certification) Worldwide · Tier 4 Marketing	COSMOS-Organic / Natural European Union · Tier 2 Trusted
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.	A German farmers' association whose private organic standard is stricter than the EU baseline. Covers food, aquaculture, textiles, and cosmetics. Recognised globally.	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.	The leading certification for organic cosmetics in Europe. Two grades: COSMOS Organic (≥95% organic agricultural ingredients) and COSMOS Natural (no organic minimum, but the same restricted-ingredient list).
Scope	Several categories	Several categories	Several categories	Cosmetics
Established	1989	1982	—	2010
Inspection	On-site + product review by national Ecolabel office	Annual on-site by Naturland-accredited inspectors	None	Annual on-site by COSMOS-accredited certifier
Residue testing	Risk-based per category	Required	None	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.	Stricter than EU 2018/848 (lower nitrogen inputs, full-farm conversion, social standards). Annual on-site inspection. Fair-pricing requirements for member farmers.	Nothing. It is not a certification and there is no body verifying anything.	COSMOS Organic: ≥95% organic agricultural ingredients. COSMOS Natural: minimum natural-origin ingredients with banned synthetic restrictions. No GMOs, no parabens, no PEGs, no synthetic fragrances, no SLS/SLES. Biodegradability requirements. Annual on-site audit.
Does NOT	Doesn't certify food as organic — Nordic Swan on a food package means lower-environmental-impact, not 'no synthetic pesticides'.	Membership-based — only farms that join the Naturland association can use the mark.	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.	Doesn't certify clinical effectiveness or skin tolerance.

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