Standards
Our Certification Standards
Fairtrade
We are an active supporter of Fairtrade with registered producers in flowers and tea. Our trading, processing and packing businesses are registered licensees, giving our customers and consumers a complete Fairtrade supply chain.
All producers who supply Fairtrade products are inspected and certified by FLO-cert. They receive a minimum price to cover the cost of sustainable production as well as an extra premium that is invested in social or economic development projects.
Products traded under fair-trade conditions and standards are labelled with a Fairtrade Mark to guarantee that producers are getting a fair deal.
Rainforest Alliance
Rainforest Alliance certification comprehensively addresses the environmental, social and economic challenges faced by farmers and their communities. The programme which is global in reach and is run by a coalition of non-profit organizations committed to conservation and social justice, currently certifies over 20 different crops including our tea in Sri Lanka.
For consumers, the Rainforest Alliance Certified seal guarantees that a product comes from sustainably managed farms or forests.
Rainforest Alliance Certification:
- Protects forestlands, conserves wildlife habitat, requires reforestation and provides climate benefits.
- Ensures good conditions and decent wages for farm workers and access to education, healthcare and respectable housing for them and their families.
- Helps farmers better manage their land, control costs, improve crop quality and, often, increase their yields.
- Was developed on farms in the tropics and employs local auditors.
- Is driven by its mission to conserve natural resources and promote sustainable livelihoods.
Certifications
We are committed to working with customers to ensure that we have, and maintain, the highest qualities and standards in our operations.
Our producer sites are subject to a range of ethical and environmental audits such as Fairtrade Labelling Organisation-Cert (FLO-Cert), Kenya Flower Council (KFC) – Gold Standard, EurepGap, which develops standards for the global certification of good agricultural practices, and the Ethical Tea Partnership as well as specific customer-related audits.
Our Beverages business in the UK is a founding member of the Ethical Tea Partnership (ETP) and is also an active member of the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI), which promotes international labour standards in the supply chain.
On product stewardship, our sites have Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) systems to ensure high standards of food safety and we are active members of industry regulatory bodies advising on product standards and promoting product safety.
