How we check organic claims
Certifications we accept
Every product on Blueberry Bear Organics must be certified organic under a scheme that fits what it is. Food, textiles and cosmetics use different standards, so we check each one differently.
| Category | Schemes we accept | How we verify |
|---|---|---|
| Pantry, Tea & Coffee, Snacks, Drinks, Fruit & Veg, Dairy & Eggs, Meat & Seafood, Bakery | National Standard for Organic and Bio-Dynamic Produce (Edition 3.8), AS 6000-2015, ACO Standard, Demeter biodynamic. Certifiers: ACO Certification Ltd, Southern Cross Certified, Organic Food Chain, Bio-Dynamic Research Institute. Imported food: certified under a recognised overseas scheme. | Operator, certificate number, expiry and scope checked on the certifier's public register; dated record kept. Retailers that aren't certified themselves can only list products carrying a certified brand's mark. |
| Clothing & Fashion, Bedding & Home (sheets, towels, table linen) | GOTS: label grade “organic” (≥95% certified organic fibre) or “made with organic materials” (≥70%); all processing stages certified. OCS 100 (≥95% organic content) or OCS Blended (≥5%), owned by Textile Exchange. Certified by an approved certification body (for example Control Union or GCL International). | Brand licence number and certification body on the label checked in the GOTS public database or Textile Exchange's “Find a certified company”; transaction certificate requested for the stock we sell; percentage and grade shown on the listing. |
| Baby & Kids | Clothing, wraps and bedding: GOTS or OCS, as above. Food: the food schemes above (no infant formula at launch). | As for textiles or food. |
| Beauty & Body | COSMOS Organic (authorised bodies include ACO Certification Ltd) or cosmetics certified by ACO to the ACO Standard. | Product listed on the certifier's database or certificate; full ingredient list required. Cosmetic claims only. |
| Cleaning & Household | Only finished products carrying their own certified-organic mark, for example GOTS-certified cotton cloths or a COSMOS-certified castile soap. | As above. An ACO “Allowed Input” registration (approved for use on certified farms) is not organic certification and isn't accepted as one. |
| Gifts | Each item in the gift is certified in its own right. | Each item checked as above. |
Organic claims in Australia: the rules by category
All products. Australia has no mandatory domestic organic standard and no legal definition of “organic” for goods sold here. A business can call a product organic without certification, but any organic or certification claim must be true and able to be backed up: false or misleading claims break the Australian Consumer Law, enforced by the ACCC. A national standard bill introduced in 2024 was not passed; in April 2026 the Government agreed it shouldn't pass in its current form. Certification is compulsory only for organic food exports (National Standard, government-approved certifier).
Food. Labels must also meet the Food Standards Code (ingredients, allergens, use-by dates, country of origin). The voluntary AS 6000-2015 and the National Standard 3.8 are the standards Australian certifiers use.
Textiles. No textile-specific organic law applies; the Australian Consumer Law and the ACCC's guidance on environmental claims do. Claims should say what is organic and how much, and be backed by evidence such as GOTS or OCS certification, which only certified brands may put on a label.
Cosmetics. Ingredients must be listed under the Consumer Goods (Cosmetics) Information Standard 2020. A product that claims to treat, prevent or cure a condition, or change how the body works, is a therapeutic good regulated by the TGA, not a cosmetic, so we only list cosmetics with cosmetic claims (cleansing, moisturising, fragrance, appearance).
Our copy. We don't make health claims about organic products, and we don't use vague words like “eco”, “green” or “non-toxic” as a substitute for certification.
What we don't accept
- “Natural”, “made with organic ingredients” or “organic” with no certificate behind it.
- NASAA Certified Organic (NCO) certificates: NCO stopped certifying in 2025.
- ACO “Allowed Input” registrations as proof of organic status.
- A GOTS or OCS logo on a product from a brand that isn't itself certified, or a printer or finisher that breaks the certified chain.
- Expired certificates, or products outside a certificate's scope.
Sources checked 18 October 2026: ACCC “Organic claims” and “Making environmental claims” (Dec 2023); Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, “Organic and biodynamic produce” and Government response to the National Organic Standard Bill 2024 (Apr 2026); GOTS “Key features”; Textile Exchange OCS 3.0 / user manual; COSMOS-standard signatures overview; ACO Certification (COSMOS, cosmetics, Allowed Inputs); IOAS accreditation listing for ACO; TGA “Determining if your product is a cosmetic or therapeutic good”; ACCC Product Safety, cosmetics ingredients labelling. General information, not legal advice.
— the Blueberry Bear Team