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	USDA Organic United States · Tier 1 Gold	EU Ecolabel (Flower) European Union · Tier 3 Specialty	Nordic Swan Ecolabel Nordic Countries · Tier 3 Specialty	Rainforest Alliance Global · Tier 3 Specialty
What it means	The US Department of Agriculture's national organic standard. The green-and-white seal is the legal mark for any food sold as 'organic' in the United States.	The European Commission's voluntary environmental label. Covers cleaning products, paper, textiles, electronics, accommodation services. NOT an organic mark.	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.	Sustainable-agriculture certification (post-2020 merged standard with UTZ). Covers environmental, social, and economic criteria. NOT an organic mark.
Scope	Food	Several categories	Several categories	Food
Established	2002	1992	1989	1987
Inspection	Annual on-site by USDA-accredited certifier	Annual audit by national Ecolabel competent body	On-site + product review by national Ecolabel office	Annual third-party audit (RA-accredited)
Residue testing	Required on ≥5% of operations annually	Per-category limits	Risk-based per category	Risk-based
Guarantees	At least 95% of ingredients are certified organic (the '100% Organic' variant requires every ingredient). No synthetic pesticides, no synthetic fertilizers, no GMOs, no sewage sludge, no irradiation. Annual on-site inspection by a USDA-accredited certifier. Residue testing on at least 5% of certified operations each year.	Lifecycle-based environmental criteria per product category. Restrictions on hazardous chemicals. Annual licence renewal with audit.	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.	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 nutrition, taste, or animal welfare specifically (separate marks like AWA cover welfare). Doesn't guarantee local production — a 'USDA Organic' product can be grown anywhere with an accredited inspector.	Doesn't apply to food. Doesn't mean organic.	Doesn't certify food as organic — Nordic Swan on a food package means lower-environmental-impact, not 'no synthetic pesticides'.	Allows synthetic pesticides — does NOT meet any organic standard. Often confused with organic but it's a different programme.

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