Every claim we can certify.

1 · How to read this page

Claims are optional. A maker applies for the ones they want to put on a label, and nothing is certified by default. Each claim is assessed on its own evidence, so a strong claim never props up a weak one, and a line can be certified for three claims and refused a fourth.

Where a claim cannot be supported, it is left off the certificate rather than softened or reworded. The definitions themselves sit in the standard; this page is the practical version of them.

2 · Where a claim can be carried

On the vendor certificate, which covers the business: where it works, how it works and what it stands behind. Every claim on this page can be carried there, including the ones that describe a business rather than a product.

On a product line, which covers one product and the claim printed on its label. Every claim here can be carried on a line except zero waste to landfill, which describes a workshop, and made by the owner, which describes a person.

Products that go on the skin are certified line by line. Hard goods and permanent crafts — pottery, ceramics, jewellery and the like — can be certified either way: the vendor certification is enough for pieces sold under the business's own name, and it carries the craft claims on the business; a named piece can also be certified as a product line, with its own number and record. A hard-goods line is certified on the maker's materials and process answers. Five claims on this page are written around ingredients: vegan, 100% natural, premium ingredients, fragrance-free and free from a named allergen. For a hard-goods maker those rest on the materials answers instead, since there is no ingredient list to read.

3 · Handmade

Means: the steps that turn materials into the product are done by hand, by the maker or the maker's own team, in premises the maker controls. Having a hand in the design is not making it.

We ask for: how it is made, step by step, naming who performs each step and what does the work — hands, hand tools, or a machine the maker operates; photographs or video of the making in the maker's own workspace; and a named list of anything made by another business.

The claim is refused where the primary making happens at another business, where an automated production line does the work, where the maker's part is design, branding or supervision only, or where the making cannot be shown happening in the maker's own workspace. That is the case the word usually hides, and it is the case this claim exists to name.

4 · Small batch

Means: made in runs materially smaller than what is generally used to make that kind of product. The batch limit is the claim, and it appears on the certificate.

We ask for: the largest number of units in one run, which is the ceiling printed on the certificate; what is ordinarily produced for a product like this, and where that figure comes from; and the run or batch records for a stated period. Small batch is a comparison, in the same way premium ingredients is, so the review has to see both numbers.

The claim is refused where the records show a run above the stated limit, or where the limit is not materially smaller than ordinary production for that kind of product.

5 · Hand-poured

Means: a person controls the pour of the product into its final container or mould. No filling machine does it.

We ask for: what is poured, into what, and by whom, including whether the pour happens at the maker's premises or anywhere else; and photographs or video of the pour and the equipment involved.

The claim is refused where an automated filler does the pouring, or where the pouring happens at another business and the maker's part is the design of what goes into it.

6 · Hand-thrown

Means: each piece is formed on a potter's wheel by hand, one at a time, by the maker or the maker's own team.

We ask for: every part of the piece named for how it was made — thrown, moulded, cast, jiggered or bought in — with who does each; and photographs or video of the throwing in the maker's own workspace. A thrown body with a cast handle is certifiable, provided the handle is declared as cast.

The claim is refused where pieces are slip-cast, moulded or jiggered and described as thrown, or where the throwing is done by another business.

7 · Made by the owner

Means: the person who owns the business takes part in making the product — not only in designing it, branding it, supervising the work or selling it.

We ask for: the owner's name and the steps they personally perform, and evidence that they do them: photographs or video of the owner at work, or records they signed off on the making, such as batch sheets, job cards or production logs.

The claim is refused where the owner's part is design, branding, supervision or sales only. It describes a person rather than a product, so it is carried on the vendor certificate and never on a product line.

8 · Vegan

Means: no animal-derived ingredients at any stage, including processing aids.

We ask for: the full ingredient list, including processing aids; supplier declarations for any ingredient that is commonly animal-derived, such as glycerin, stearic acid, lecithin or waxes; and an answer on shared equipment, which has to be no, or yes and cleaned between runs. A yes without cleaning is not certifiable. For a hard-goods maker the claim rests on the materials and animal-materials answers instead.

9 · Organic

Means: certified by an accredited certification body. We verify the certificate; we do not issue organic certification ourselves.

We ask for: the organic certificate, the certification body, the certificate number and the expiry date. The certificate is checked against the issuing body. Where organic claims on food, seed and feed are regulated and cosmetics, pet food and natural health products fall outside that regime, the certificate that governs your product is the one that counts.

10 · 100% Natural

Means: no synthetic fragrance, colour, preservative or petrochemical input. The ArtisanCheck excluded-substances list governs.

We ask for: the full ingredient list, with the source of each ingredient, and confirmation that nothing on the excluded list appears in the line. For a hard-goods maker the claim rests on the materials answers instead.

11 · Made in a location

Means: primary assembly or transformation happens in the location named — the place where the product becomes the product it is sold as — and at least 51% of the direct costs of producing it are incurred there. Direct production costs are the materials, components, packaging, labour and services that go into making the product. A product assembled in one country from materials bought in another is made where the assembly happened, and that is all this claim says.

We ask for: the location as it appears on the label; where primary assembly or transformation happens; the share of direct production costs incurred there, as a percentage, which appears on the certificate exactly as you state it; and the cost breakdown behind that share — each material, component, packaging, labour and service, and where it was incurred.

12 · Product of a location

Means: at least 98% of the direct costs of producing the product are incurred in the location named, and primary assembly or transformation happens there. This is the bar the legal “Product of Canada” claim sets, certified by us as our own standard.

We ask for: the location as it appears on the label; where primary assembly or transformation happens; the share of direct production costs incurred there, as a percentage, which appears on the certificate exactly as you state it; a full cost breakdown — every material, component, packaging, labour and service, with where each was incurred; and where the materials came from, from supplier invoices or records showing where each was purchased. Anything bought outside the location counts against the percentage.

It clears Made in. A maker who can stand behind 98% can stand behind 51%, so Product of clears Made in and nobody applies for both: the same answers and the same files stand for the two, and the certificate carries both. What differs is the number, and the standard sets out both bars. A claim that says “Made in” or “Product of” without a number attached cannot be certified here — the share the maker states is printed on the certificate, so our seal can be read against what a shelf label guarantees rather than assumed to match it.

13 · Cruelty Free

Means: no animal testing of the finished product or its ingredients, by you or anyone acting for you.

We ask for: a signed declaration covering the finished product, the ingredients and third parties, and an answer on whether the line is sold in any market that requires animal testing.

14 · Premium Ingredients

Means: every ingredient the product depends on is elevated against what would generally be used in that kind of product: rarer, of a demonstrably higher grade, or materially higher in cost than the ordinary input. The word premium has no legal definition, so this is the standard we certify it against.

We ask for: the full ingredient list with the source of each ingredient; a statement of what would ordinarily be used in that kind of product and how yours differs; and evidence that the ingredients really are elevated — grade, purity or provenance documents, or supplier invoices and quotations showing what is paid for them against the ordinary input. Premium is a comparison, so the review has to be able to see two things: what the difference is, and what it costs.

The claim is refused where the ingredients are ordinary for that kind of product, or where nothing on file shows them to be rarer, of a higher grade, or higher in cost than the input generally used.

15 · Fragrance-free

Means: no fragrance is present in the product — nothing added for scent, no essential oil used for its scent, and no masking agent. Ingredients that smell of themselves are named rather than hidden behind the word.

We ask for: the full ingredient list with anything carrying a scent of its own named as such; confirmation that no fragrance, scent-giving essential oil or masking agent is present; and supplier declarations for any ingredient that can carry added fragrance, such as botanical extracts, carrier oils, bases and blends.

The claim is refused where a fragrance, a scent-giving essential oil or a masking agent is present, and it is not awarded to a product that is merely described as unscented — an unscented product can carry a fragrance whose only job is to cover another smell. We certify fragrance-free.

16 · Free from a named allergen

Means: the ingredient list contains none of the one allergen named on the label. The claim is certified for that allergen alone and appears on the certificate as free from it — free from nuts, free from dairy, free from a named essential oil.

We ask for: the allergen named as it appears on the label; the full ingredient list, including processing aids; an answer on shared equipment, which has to be no, or yes and cleaned between runs; and supplier declarations for any ingredient that commonly carries it.

The claim is refused where the named allergen appears anywhere in the ingredient list or a processing aid, or where shared equipment is used and not cleaned between runs. One allergen at a time, by name: see the last clause on this page for why there is no claim called allergen-free.

17 · Recycled content

Means: a stated percentage of the product or its packaging comes from recycled material. We certify the number you state, not the word.

We ask for: the percentage, from 1 to 100, which appears on the certificate exactly as you state it; what is recycled, whether that is the product, the packaging or both; and documentation from a registered recycled content supplier, or records of other recycled means — material you reclaim, reprocess or divert yourself, with the collection and processing records behind it. A supplier's assurance on its own is not evidence.

18 · Plastic-free packaging

Means: no plastic in any layer the customer receives: the container, the outer box, the tape, the void fill and the label backing.

We ask for: confirmation that there is no plastic in the primary packaging, the outer packaging or the shipping materials for the line, and photographs or specifications of every layer the customer receives, with what each one is made of.

19 · Certified materials

Means: materials carrying a recognised certification — FSC wood, GOTS cotton and the like. We check the certificate number against the issuing body.

We ask for: the scheme, the certificate number, which materials it covers and where they sit in the product, and the certificate itself or a chain-of-custody document naming you or your supplier. The certificate has to cover the material you actually use, and be current on the date we check it.

20 · Refillable or returnable

Means: the container is refilled or returned through a system you actually run. A recyclable container is not a refillable one, and an intention to start is not a system.

We ask for: what the customer gets, whether that is a refill, a return and reuse, or both; how it works for them, where they take it or send it, what comes back and what happens to it next; and evidence the system is running, such as customer-facing instructions, a photograph of the refill point, or return records.

21 · Zero waste to landfill

Means: at least 90% of the waste your business produces is diverted from landfill, measured over a stated period.

We ask for: the diversion rate, 90 or higher, which is what appears on the certificate; the period the rate covers; and the waste records behind it — hauler weight tickets, diversion reports, or a waste audit for that period. It describes the workshop rather than one product, so this claim is carried on the vendor certificate and never on a product line.

22 · Why two words are not on this list

There is deliberately no sustainable claim on this list. It is a general statement with nothing specific behind it, so there is nothing to verify it against — which is exactly what a regulator treats as unverifiable, and what a buyer learns not to trust.

There is deliberately no allergen-free claim either, and for the same reason: nothing is free from everything anyone can react to. A claim that broad cannot be evidenced, so we certify one named allergen at a time instead, and the certificate says which one.

Every claim here asks for a number or a document rather than a word, and the ones that ask for a number put that number on the certificate. That is the difference between a claim that can be checked and a claim that has merely been typed.