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	USDA Organic United States · Tier 1 Gold	Global Organic Textile Standard Global · Tier 2 Trusted	? 'Natural' (NOT a certification) Worldwide · Tier 4 Marketing	Regenerative Organic Certified (ROC) United States · Tier 2 Trusted
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 strictest, most widely-recognised standard for organic textiles. Covers the full supply chain from organic fibre to finished garment, with environmental AND social criteria.	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.	A 'beyond organic' standard developed by the Regenerative Organic Alliance (Patagonia, Rodale Institute, Dr. Bronner's, others). Built on top of USDA Organic; adds soil health, animal welfare, and social fairness pillars.
Scope	Food	Textiles	Several categories	Several categories
Established	2002	2002	—	2018
Inspection	Annual on-site by USDA-accredited certifier	Annual on-site, IOAS-accredited	None	Annual on-site by ROA-accredited certifier
Residue testing	Required on ≥5% of operations annually	Required for finished products	None	Per USDA NOP
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.	≥70% certified-organic natural fibre (the 'organic' grade requires ≥95%). Restricted dyes, no chlorine bleach, no formaldehyde, no banned heavy metals. Wastewater treatment requirements. Social standards based on ILO core conventions (no child labour, no forced labour, fair wages, safe workplace). Annual on-site inspection by IOAS-accredited certifier.	Nothing. It is not a certification and there is no body verifying anything.	USDA Organic baseline (or equivalent) is a prerequisite. Soil health: cover cropping, no-till or reduced-till, conservation crop rotation, compost. Animal welfare: pasture-based, Five Freedoms, prohibits factory-farm conditions. Social fairness: living wage, freedom of association, safe workplace, no forced or child labour. Three tiers: Bronze, Silver, Gold based on adoption depth.
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 cover non-textile components (zips, buttons, prints) beyond the chemical-restriction list.	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.	Newer label (2018+) — supply still limited, mostly US brands.

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