Danish organics celebrates three decades

This year marks 30 years of the Danish organic logo and is being marked with a special celebration.

Denmark is considered a world leader when it comes to the share of the total food market held by organic products and is represented with the national Danish organic logo – the red Ø – which is 30-years-old in 2020.

Prior to this logo being established, the Danish Parliament had passed the world’s first law on organic production, and since then, the Danish Government has certified and controlled the country’s organic farmers and companies. Today, 98 per cent of the Danish population are aware that the red Ø is the Danish Government’s guarantee for the organic production of natural foods with focus on clean environment and a high level of animal welfare.

Each time a Dane buys food and drink for 100 kroner (the Danish currency), almost 14 kroner of that is spent on goods that bear the red Ø and the EU’s green organic logo. Based on increasing sales over previous years, Organic Denmark estimates that during 2020, the average Dane will spend 3,400 kroner, equivalent to 453 Euros, on organic products.

“There’s no doubt that the red Ø and the general cooperation between successive Danish consumers have a lot of confidence in the way in which products are controlled all the way from the farmer to the supermarket, and the label has a high level of credibility,” commented Pernille Bundgard, International Market Director at Organic Denmark.

Almost half a million people make Veganuary pledge, organisers reveal

The organisers of the annual Veganuary campaign are celebrating after increasing the number of participants by more than 150,000.

The 2020 campaign, which took place in January, saw more than 400,000 people take the pledge, a huge rise on the 250,000 in 2019 and exceeding the target of 350,000 for 2020.

Hundreds of new plant-based products were launched, with sales exceeding expectations. Retailers also saw interest in vegan products soar, for example, M&S’ Plant Kitchen No Chicken Kiev sold at a rate of four every minute since it launched on January 2.

April Preston, Director of Product Development at M&S, commented: “Veganism is a trend that we are absolutely loving at M&S, and as our customers continue to experiment and adopt more flexitarian diets, we too are having fun creating new products to fit within this.”

In addition, more than 50 companies took part in the Veganuary Workplace Challenge, encouraging employees to try vegan and providing more vegan options in the workplace. And Veganuary launched its first-ever TV ad on major networks in five countries including Sky News in the UK.

Veganuary’s Head of Communications, Toni Vernelli, commented: “With the link between animal farming and the climate crisis making headlines nearly every day, we expected Veganury 2020 to be the biggest yet, but it exceeded all of our expectations. We applaud everyone who took part and encourage them to continue eating vegan food as often as possible. And we’re grateful to all of the businesses embracing Veganuary and making it easier for more people to eat more plant-based food more often.”

Organic and Natural Business Product Award winners announced

If our annual Organic & Natural Business Product Awards have told us anything it is that product innovation and excellence is alive and kicking in our sector.

With a hugely varied range of products in the running for one of our awards, and with some new categories introduced to reflect the sheer number of new launches we have seen, our awards have proved more popular than ever.

And it gives us great pride and delight to be able to reveal all those brands whose products have won a coveted accolade. The reasons for why retailers felt they should be a winner were varied, but all were rooted in their excellence, ethics and innovation. Many congratulations to those who won or were highly commended and we thank all retailers who took the time to vote- winners below:

Best Skin & Bodycare:

Winner – Salt of the Earth Natural Deodorant

Highly Commended – Weleda Skin Food collection

Best Personal Care:

Winner – Organ(y)c Sanitary Pads

Highly Commended – JASON Himalayan Pink Salt 2-in-1 Bath Soak & Body Wash

Best New Beauty & Healthcare:

Winner – ATTITUDE Living BULK to go Hand Soap Orange Leaves

Highly Commended – My Beauty & Go Beauty Sleep Shot

Best Healthcare:

Winner – Celtic Nutrition Healthy Heart with Plant Sterols

Highly Commended – Salus Floradix Vitamin B-Complex

Best New Food & Drink:

Winner – Organico Perfect Gluten-Free Pasta

Highly Commended – Plamil So free Vegan Cocoa Bites

Best Food:

Winner – Tiana Fairtrade Organics Odourless Cooking Butter

Highly Commended – Navitas Organic Cacao Sweet Nibs

Best Drink:

Winner – Veg of Lund My Foodie Organic Drinks

Highly Commended – Pukka Cacoa Maca Magic Herbal Latte

Best Household:

Winner – Natracare Safe to Flush Moist Tissues

Highly Commended – ATTITUDE Living BULK to go Bathroom Cleaner

Read about them all here 

Dr Bronner’s announces sustainability initiative

A new initiative designed to support advocacy for social justice, animal rights and environmental sustainability in the UK has been announced by Dr Bronner’s.

The natural soap brand has created the pilot programme, called All-One UK Initiative, which is an extension to the existing All-One International that seeks to ensure mission aligned advocacy is supported in the markets that Dr Bronner’s sells its products in. Through the initiative, at a minimum, one per cent of Dr Bronner’s sales to the UK market each year will be donated to local advocacy efforts in support of social justice, animal advocacy, and environmental sustainability.

The launch of the initiative in the UK market, as well as Germany, is a pilot programme for 2019.

Michael Bronner, President of Dr Bronner’s, explained: “In the UK, our distributors are deeply inspired by the extraordinary organisations we are supporting and are happy to help elevate awareness of these causes globally.”

By the end of 2019, Dr Bronner’s All-One UK will have donated to three highly effective organisations and initiatives within the country that are aligned with the company’s core focus areas; Animal Advocacy with Compassion in World Farming, Environmental Sustainability with UK Youth Climate Coalition, and Social Justice with Emmaus.

In addition to financial donations, the company has donated its soaps and other products to festivals, community and educational events, fundraisers, animal sanctuaries, and direct-action campaigns across the UK and around the world throughout the year.

Fair tax certification for Suma

In recognition of its commitment to fair practices, Suma Wholefoods has been certified as a Fair Tax Mark Business.

The Fair Tax Mark certification scheme was launched in February 2014 to allow businesses that are paying tax in a responsible way to demonstrate this commitment to their customers, suppliers, investors and employees. Already, more than 50 businesses have been certified.

Emma Robinson, Compliance Coordinator at Suma, commented: “We are delighted to have received the Fair Tax Mark certification. Equality and sustainability are at the heart of what we do and having a fair and transparent approach to tax is key to being a responsible business. The Fair Tax Mark allows us to demonstrate that we have been independently assessed and found to have an exemplar approach to tax. Too often, tax is presented as a burden for businesses, but we’re proud to pay the tax we owe.”

Paul Monaghan, Chief Executive at Fair Tax Mark, added: “We are pleased to announce the Fair Tax Mark certification for Suma, one of the most well-known and fastest growing co-operatives serving customers across the UK and internationally. As part of the accreditation process, Suma has published a new tax policy that commits them to shun tax avoidance and to avoid the use of artificial tax havens. Suma already publish their full accounts and are committed to enhancing their tax reporting in the future. Their current tax charge is very much in line with the expected rate, averaging at 21 per cent over the last four years.”