Natural Origins is a committed company whose core business is the sourcing of ethical and responsible botanical ingredients. The certification program offered by the Ecocert organisation has been divided into two sets of standards since 2017. The first one, known as the Fair for Life label, is dedicated to fair trade products. The second For Life label brand targets corporate social responsibility, including the implementation of responsible sourcing policies.
Fair for Life and For Life labels
The labels are complementary and share the following common ground:
- respect for human rights and fair working conditions
- respect for ecosystems, promotion of biodiversity, sustainability of agricultural practices
- the search for a positive impact on a local scale
1. The Fair for Life label
This labeling allows the marketing of fair trade products all over the world.
This offers key guarantees such as [2]:
- a fair purchase price superior to the market price
- a protection mechanism for producers (minimum price guaranteed in a crisis event and calculated on production costs)
- the Fair Trade Development fund, or "Fair Trade Fund" which designates the additional amount paid to the producer operation in addition to the sales price for the purchase of Fair Trade products. The use of the development fund is strictly limited to projects agreed collectively by the beneficiaries.
- decent and safe working conditions (concerns all the marketing supply chain and its country)
- enhancement of the producers’ autonomy
- environmentally friendly agricultural practices encouraging the transition to organic farming
Monitoring covers the entire supply chain in order to ensure that all stakeholders (producers, buyers, operators handling the product) comply with the rules of responsibility and fairness of the set of standards. "Fair for Life" helps ensure that producers receive a fair price, that their production tools improve over time and that they benefit from the means to carry out collective projects decided by themselves. [1]
2. The For Life label
This labeling makes it possible to promote the commitment to corporate social responsibility (CSR) including the implementation of a responsible sourcing policy [1]. This commitment particularly concerns the challenges of sustainable development with the assessment of environmental responsibility, social commitment, the impact on local development and respect for consumers.
The entity is monitored to ensure that it complies with the rules relating to CSR as part of the framework.
At the level of a product, a control of the supply chain is set up knowing that this possibility remains exceptional and can only be obtained if some strict conditions are met at the level of the composition of the product within the framework of responsible sourcing. [1]
Impressive certifications for Natural Origins
Natural Origins carries out its sourcing activity with the conviction that it is possible to respect the environment and progress together while creating value.
By involving all stakeholders in the supply chain (producers, harvesters, local actors, suppliers, employees, customers), the company has achieved the highest degree of For Life certification with 5 leaves. This highlights the CSR approach undertaken by Natural Origins since its creation with the three fundamental pillars: economy, environment and social.
1. Fair for Life Harpagophytum
Natural Origins has been audited & certified this year according to the control procedures of the Fair for Life Programme. This certification programme concerns for fair trade & responsible supply-chains as Fair Trade Partner / Intermediate Trader for the Harpagophytum – Namibia supply chain.
Now, two references of organic harpagophytum are labeled as such in our catalogue:
- Organic Fair For Life Devil's Claw Root Chips
- Organic Fair For Life Devil's Claw Root Powder 300µm Heat Treated
2. For Life cinnamon, coriander and cubeb pepper
Natural Origins has been audited & certified according to the control procedures of the For Life Programme, certification programme for Corporate Social Responsibility. In addition, the operation has been audited & certified according to the complementary For Life Product Certification module for Social Responsibility as an intermediate trader.
The product list approved includes:
Marketing differentiation for Natural Origins and its customers
Nadine Bromberger, purchasing manager and responsible for the labeling project, welcomes the involvement of all stakeholders (producers, harvesters, local actors, suppliers, employees, customers) and the diligent work that has made it possible to achieve today's results: "This development of the Fair for Life and For Life labels on current products as well as others to come (Moringa soon) makes it possible to position the company as a committed and major player for ethical natural ingredients in a sustainable development context ”.
Emilie Leconte, key account manager and product manager also confirms this enthusiasm for market demands where the choice of fair trade and responsible ingredients constitutes a strong commitment. This labeling approach thus makes it possible to meet a need for transparency by highlighting, defining and guaranteeing responsible purchasing:
“The Fair for Life and For Life labels provide proof of our commitment to the overriding criteria of social, environmental and supply chains inherent in the products that we can also promote through videos or photos via digital channels. This approach helps our customers and their consumers to become aware of social responsibility while making them actors in developing improvement processes ".
Sources:
[1] https://www.fairforlife.org/pmws/indexDOM.php?client_id=fairforlife&page_id=home&lang_iso639=en
[2] https://www.ecocert.com/en/certification-detail/fair-trade-fair-for-life
Pierre Aveline
Marketing Director
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