Eco labels and certification logos in Australia: a shopper's cheat sheet

Logos on a pack are shortcuts. A good one tells you that an independent organisation has checked something specific against a published standard. A made-up one just looks reassuring. This cheat sheet covers the marks you're most likely to see on Australian household products — food, body care, textiles, paper, packaging and appliances — what each one actually means, and how to check it.

One rule applies to all of them: a real certification mark belongs to an organisation you can look up, and it covers something specific. If you can't find the organisation or a register, treat the logo as decoration.

Organic food and farm products

In Australia, food sold domestically can be called organic without being certified. The Australian Consumer Law still says claims mustn't be misleading, but no one checks them before the product is sold. Certification is how a business shows its claim has been independently audited.

The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) currently lists four approved certifying bodies for organic and bio-dynamic exports. Most certified organic products you'll see in Australian shops carry one of their marks:

  • ACO Certification Ltd (ACO) — the green "bud" logo. Products should show an ACO certification number you can check on ACO's online Product & Operator Search.
  • Southern Cross Certified Australia (SXC) — the SXC organic logo.
  • Organic Food Chain (OFC) — the OFC organic logo.
  • Bio-Dynamic Research Institute (BDRI) — certifies biodynamic products under the Demeter mark.

A note on NASAA. NASAA Certified Organic withdrew as an approved certifying body on 26 June 2025. DAFF's guidance allowed existing NASAA-labelled packaging to be used for up to 12 months, to 25 June 2026. If you see the NASAA Certified Organic mark on a product now, it's worth checking which certifier the business uses today.

Our earlier guide to Australian organic logos and label wording goes deeper on phrases like "made with organic ingredients".

Body care and cosmetics

  • COSMOS ORGANIC / COSMOS NATURAL. COSMOS is an international standard for organic and natural cosmetics. "COSMOS ORGANIC" products meet minimum organic-ingredient percentages; "COSMOS NATURAL" products meet the standard's other rules without the organic percentages. In Australia, ACO is an authorised COSMOS certification body, so you'll often see the ACO bud with the COSMOS signature.
  • Cruelty Free International approval (the Leaping Bunny logo). This mark is about animal testing, not ingredients. Approved brands must follow a fixed cut-off date policy, monitor their suppliers, and have that monitoring independently audited. It covers cosmetics and personal care, household and cleaning, and animal care products. It isn't a vegan mark, so check the ingredient list if that matters to you.

Browse body care and skincare in Skincare & beauty.

Textiles: clothes, baby wraps and bedding

  • GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard). Two label grades: "organic" (at least 95% certified organic fibres) and "made with organic" (at least 70%). A genuine label shows the GOTS logo, the certification body and a licence number for the certified business.

You'll find baby wraps, blankets and clothing from small brands in Baby & kids. Where a product is GOTS-certified, the brand should be able to tell you the licence number.

Paper, timber and cardboard

  • FSC (Forest Stewardship Council). Three labels: FSC 100% (all material from FSC-certified forests), FSC Recycled (100% recycled or reclaimed material) and FSC Mix (a blend of FSC-certified material, recycled material and/or "controlled wood" — lower-risk but not FSC-certified). Look for the licence code printed near the logo.

Whole-of-life ecolabels

  • GECA (Good Environmental Choice Australia). GECA is Australia's not-for-profit, multi-sector "Type 1" ecolabel, following ISO 14024 principles. Products are assessed by independent third parties against published standards that look across the product's life cycle, including environmental, health, social and performance criteria. You'll see it on cleaning products, paint, furniture, flooring and more. GECA keeps a register of certified products.

Packaging and disposal

  • Australasian Recycling Label (ARL). Run by the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO). It shows each part of the pack and which bin it belongs in: recyclable, conditionally recyclable (follow the instruction) or not recyclable. Much more useful than the old numbered triangle, which only identifies the type of plastic.
  • Compostable logos (Australasian Bioplastics Association). The seedling logo means a product is verified to AS 4736 for commercial/industrial composting. A separate home compostable logo means it's verified to AS 5810 for home composting. The two aren't interchangeable, and you'll still need to check what your council accepts.

Origin

  • Australian Made, Australian Grown (AMAG). The green-and-gold kangaroo in a triangle is a registered certification trade mark run by the Australian Made Campaign. "Australian Made" means the product's last substantial transformation happened in Australia; it doesn't necessarily mean every ingredient or component is Australian. Variants include "Australian Grown" and "Product of Australia".
  • Country of origin food labels. Separate from the AMAG logo, most food sold in Australia must carry a country of origin label, often with a bar chart showing the proportion of Australian ingredients.

Water and energy

  • WELS Water Rating label. Stars for water efficiency on showers, taps, toilets, washing machines and dishwashers. More stars, less water.
  • Energy Rating Label. Stars for energy efficiency on appliances like fridges, washing machines and dryers.

Marks that need a second look

  • Brand-designed seals such as "eco certified" or "clean formula" with no organisation named.
  • "Biodegradable" with no standard or timeframe.
  • Old or expired marks, like a NASAA Certified Organic logo on a pack made after mid-2026.
  • A real logo used on the wrong thing — for example, a certified ingredient inside an uncertified product.

Our greenwashing red flags guide has more on this.

Not certified? Not necessarily a problem

Certification costs money and time, and many small Australian makers — a local beekeeper, a family soap-maker, a market gardener — do careful, honest work without it. On Blueberry Bear Organics, every product carries one of three clear labels: Certified organic, Organic (as described by the brand) or Natural & low-tox. That way you can support small makers and still know exactly what's been independently checked. Read more on our How we label page.

Sources

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