Organic Certification: The Development of an Industry

By Simon Jacques,
Ontario Representative Ecocert Canada

The term "Organic" was coined by groups of California Farmers in the 1970's who wished to differentiate their products from those of mainstream agriculture. Certification was a marketing strategy developed by these farmers. Since the advent of marketing, consumers were regularly subjected to questionable product claims. In order to give true value and meaning to the term "organic", a system of independent third-party verification was established, so consumers could trust the claim. Standards were developed and monitored by certification bodies. The first certifying bodies were farmer-controlled, and were essentially a system of peer-review. Each group had its own standards that shared a common theme, but differed in detail.

As the term caught on, various certifying agencies sprung up, each with their own standards. Some farmers and processors began to market their products as organic without certification. Consumer understanding of the term became confused, as the word had different meanings to different people or groups.

In 1999, the USDA standardized the meaning of the word "organic" across the country. The NOP (National Organic Program) was born. All food sold in the US as organic must be certified to this standard by an accredited agency.

Canada is one of the last major agricultural producers without a mandatory government standard for organic production. In 2006, the Canadian Organic Standard (COS) was released. The Canadian "Organic Products Regulations" are due to come into legal effect on June 30th of this year. After this date, food sold as Organic in International or inter-provincial trade must be certified by an accredited agency.

What about organic cotton, cosmetics or other non-food items?

In Canada, the Organic Products Regulations are administered by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). As a result, they cover food products only, not cosmetics, detergents, or textiles. Nonetheless, many of these products are made from ingredients of agricultural origin, and these ingredients could potentially be certified organic. Consumer demand began to drive the production of cosmetics made from certified organic ingredients, and free from potentially harmful synthetic additives. Once the ecological effects of conventional cotton farming became known, demand grew for organic cotton and other fibres. But use of the term "organic" on these products remains unregulated. For this reason, voluntary certification can be particularly useful for consumers to evaluate the legitimacy of the claim, and avoid "greenwashing". With third party certification, neither the producer nor the consumer (the first and second parties) need to verify the claim: it is verified by an independent certification body. To further guarantee their claims, most certification bodies are accredited by the International Standards Organization to ISO Guide 65 (the standard that applies only to certification bodies). Before becoming certified, check that your agency is ISO 65 accredited.

Does "Fair Trade" mean "Organic"?

Not necessarily. There are a couple of Fair Trade standards in common use, and they do contain requirements for environmental stewardship. The standard of the Fairtrade Labelling Organization (FLO) encourages producers to work towards organic farming practices where this is socially and economically practical. The "Ecocert Fair Trade" standard requires full organic certification for products where the environmental and health impacts of agricultural chemical use are known to be particularly severe (cotton, bananas and flowers). For other commodities, sound environmental practices are required and organic certification is encouraged. Organic certification does not necessarily mean that the product is fair trade, but many products are dual certified as both fair trade and organic. Fair trade certification does mean that independent producers are paid a defined minimum price, as well as a premium for community social development. If the production involves paid workers, a minimum wage, minimum age, and other working conditions are required. In the Ecocert Fair Trade program, all operators along the supply chain are involved in certification, including importers and distributors. The system guards against excessive profit-taking and ensures sustainable and socially responsible behaviour at all stages of the supply chain.

Fair Trade and Organic certification, weather through a voluntary program or as part of government regulation, can assure the customer that "green" or "socially-responsible" claims have genuine legitimacy. Ecocert offers Organic and Fair Trade certification of textiles, food and cosmetics, and ecological certification of detergents and perfumes. We look forward to working with Fashion Takes Action and its members to bring awareness of social and environmental issues to the Fashion industry. Through independent certification, consumers can feel confident that their fashion dollars are supporting environmentally and socially responsible production systems.