Organic Certification Directory - Mademoiselle Organic

Information on the certification bodies and labels of organic products that I have reviewed on the website. I hope you find this directory useful

Click here for Australian Organic Standards

NASAA

NASAA is nationally audited and accredited under the Australian Department of Agriculture (DOA) Organic and Bio-dynamic Program.

Standards:

“100% organic” = 100% certified organic content by raw material weight (excluding salt and added water) -NASAA certification label can be displayed.
“certified organic” = 95%-100% certified organic content by raw material weight (excluding salt and added water) – NASAA certification label can be displayed.
“made with certified organic ingredients” = 70%-95% certified organic content by raw material weight (excluding salt and added water) – no use of the certification label is permitted.
<70 % certified organic content cannot make any certification claims, can only list ingredients as ‘organic’
Certified organic products may not include the same ingredient derived from both an organic and a non-organic source.
NO Genetically Modified Organisms.
Perfumes, colouration, flavours and fragrances shall be certified organic.
Non-agricultural ingredients must comply with strict guidelines.
Agricultural ingredients which are not organic must be unavailable in sufficient quantities as certified organic products or they cannot be used in the product.
Extraction and processing methods of raw materials must preserve the essential nature of the product – to this aim, only a few methods are allowed. This also applies to manufacturing processes.
Packaging must also be eco-friendly.

Full standards available here

Website: www.nasaa.com.au/

AUSTRALIAN CERTIFIED ORGANIC (ACO)

Australian Certified Organic is a government-accredited certification body.

Standards:

“certified organic” = 95%-100% certified organic content by raw material weight (excluding salt and added water)
“made with certified organic ingredients” = 70%-95% certified organic content by raw material weight (excluding salt and added water) with the remainder from non-organic sources (where unavailable in organic form)
Certified organic products may not include the same ingredient derived from both an organic and a non-organic source.
NO Genetically Modified Organisms.
Alcohols and tinctures shall be naturally produced using natural fermentation processes and shall be from certified organic sources where commercially available.
Petrochemical based ingredients are prohibited.
NO animal testing.
NO synthetic colouring agents, synthetic fragrances/parfums, ethoxylated ingredients, silicones, paraffin and other petroleum or petroleum derived products
Natural preservatives only.
Short restricted list of synthetic ingredients allowed.

Full standards available here

Website: austorganic.com

ECOCERT

Standards:

A minimum of 95% of the total ingredients must come from natural origin.
A minimum of 95% of all plant-based ingredients in the formula and a minimum of 10% of all ingredients by weight must come from organic farming.
NO GMO, parabens, phenoxyethanol, nanoparticles, silicon, PEG, synthetic perfumes and dyes, animal-derived ingredients (unless naturally produced by them: milk, honey, etc.).
Biodegradable or recyclable packaging.

Full standards available here

Website: www.ecocert.com/

USDA

Standards:

“100% organic” = 100% certified organic content (excluding salt and added water) – USDA certification label can be displayed
“certified organic” = 95%-100% certified organic content (excluding salt and added water) – USDA certification label can be displayed
“made with certified organic ingredients” = 70%-95% certified organic content (excluding salt and added water) – no use of the certification label is permitted.
<70 % certified organic content cannot make any certification claims, can only list ingredients as ‘organic’
Remaining product ingredients must consist of nonagricultural substances approved on the National List or nonorganically produced agricultural products that are not commercially available in organic form, also on the National List.

Fact sheet available here

Website: www.usdaorganicskincare.com/

OCS (for textiles)

The OCS Standard has been created by Textile Exchange, a charitable organisation committed to expanding organic agriculture.

The Organic Content Standard (OCS) relies on third-party verification (like Control Union or Ecocert) to verify a final product contains the accurate amount of a given organically grown material.

Standards are available here

Website: click here

CONTROL UNION

Control Union is a worldwide private certification body that conducts audits and certifies companies for a limited range of organic certifications. Standards depend on certifications.

Website: www.controlunion.com/en