Certification & Standards*
Organic Partners espousal of high environmental and ethical standards has been objectively verified by a number of independent schemes and certification organisations.
ORGANIC CERTIFICATION
Organic is a holistic, or 'whole system', approach to farming, recognising the close interrelationships between all parts of the production system. This covers agriculture - the cultivation of crops and animal husbandry in its many forms - as well as wild collection and processing.
As the demand for organic products grows into new sectors, so do the standards, which now cover a plethora of areas including aquaculture, textiles, health and beauty products, flavours, medicines and ethical trade.
EU 2092/91 Certification - Soil Association (SA) & Soil Association Certification Ltd (SA Cert)
Organic Partners is certified by the Soil Association, the oldest and largest certification body in the UK, which currently covers 70% of the UK organic market as well as operating internationally.
The SA is also a membership charity dedicated to the health of the soil, plants, animals and people. Unlike most certification bodies, any excess income that it generates is covenanted to its charitable arm where funds are used to promote, educate and support health and sustainable agriculture.
The Soil Association is also one of the few certifiers who are accredited by IFOAM, operating to standards that are more stringent than those required under EU law.
National Organic Programme (NOP) of the US Department of Agriculture
In 2002 the USA followed the example of the EU in creating a 'level playing field' for organics with the introduction of its NOP, which specified a national standard for food labelled organic, whether grown in the United States or imported.
Organic Partners received NOP certification in 2004.
International Federation of Organic Agricultural Movements (IFOAM)
IFOAM is the umbrella organisation for the world-wide organic movement with a membership drawn from farmers, processors, manufacturers, traders, academics, research, certification bodies, retailers and individuals.
Although IFOAM does not itself inspect and certify, it has rigorous independent standards or 'norms' which are considered to be more stringent than those regulated by governments. Instead, under its Organic Guarantee System, it provides a means to 'accredit' certification bodies that conform to its higher standards.
Organic Partners is an IFOAM member.
BIODIVERSITY AND BENEFIT SHARING
The Union of Ethical Biotrade (UEBT)
Organic Partners are working towards full compliance with the Principles and Criteria that are being developed by the UNCTAD BioTrade Initiative following the Convention on Biological Diversity. This agreement, signed by 150 heads of states at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, was the first global agreement on the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity.
The BioTrade Principles and Criteria, verified via the Union, offer enterprises a way to demonstrate their corporate social responsibility by making a positive contribution to the conservation of biological diversity whilst creating tangible business benefits. Organic Partners is a founding member of UEBT and are contributing to the development of its criteria which are to be formalised in 2007
FAIRTRADE
The Fairtrade Labelling Organisation
Fairtrade Labeling Organisations International (FLO) is an association of twenty labeling initiatives that promote and market the Fairtrade certification mark in their countries. It is an international system of standards for producers and distributors that ensure farmers and workers in some of the world's poorest countries are adequately protected and can build a more sustainable future. Its label has become a credible, independent consumer guarantee. Organic Partners achieved FLO certification in February 2007
FAIRWILD
Under the guidance of three Swiss organisations, SIPPO (a government import promotion organisation), IMO (an organic certifier) and Forum Essenzia (an essential oil association), 'FairWild' standards are being developed to address the gap in the organic standards for wild collection and FairTrade certification.
FairWild standards will fall under the banner of organic certification, but include more robust ethical criteria and a tightening up of the current standards for organic wild collection. For the latter, they are incorporating the International Standard for Sustainable Wild Collection of Medicinal and Aromatic plants (ISSC-MAP), the first version of which was delivered in February 2007
KOSHER
The KSA symbol is a guarantee that the products bearing the symbol are in full compliance with the kosher standards.
*Standards
A standard articulates the values and thresholds agreed by a range of stakeholders, into accessible, usable and practical benchmarks.
Organic Partners choices of standards are based on:
• A design that can be easily communicated and followed by operators;
• A strong requirement for transparency, due process and stakeholder engagement in standards development. This is crucial for legitimacy and credibility;
• Assurance of consumer confidence by being both robust and of the highest integrity;
There are two categories of standard in common use for organic and ethical standards:
• A performance marked standard is one that can be objectively measured and clearly audited against. The retail market prefers these.
• Developmental standards are often used to evaluate improvements over time, and are particularly valid in developing Nations. They acknowledge gains made, even if small thus reducing barriers to entry;
• Standards usually have a mix of the two. We believe both are critical; to serve existing markets and assist in developing new ones.
*Certification
• Certification is the means of independently guaranteeing and verifying that a product or an organisation meets a standard. Organic Partners use Certification Bodies (CB) who adhere to accredited systems of quality control, such as ISO65 (International Standardisation Organisations) for organic certification. CB's using these systems will then be audited and accredited by an independent accreditation authority such as the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS).
• Certification can also refer to the organisation meeting approval rather than the product. Organic Partners believes that the way in which it operates as an organisation is of equal importance to that of product certification. We are now in the process of application to The International Faitrade Association (IFAT). These systems investigate and certify how we as a company operate in relation to our staff at an economic, ethical and social dimension.