Traditional Medicinals wins first FairWild certification

24-Nov-2009 - Last updated on 16-Mar-2017 at 11:31 GMT

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Medicinal tea producer, Traditional Medicinals claims to be the first US-based manufacturer to obtain the new FairWild certification which sets international social, ecological and quality standards for wild-collected plant species with a fair deal guarantees throughout the supply chain.

FairWild certification provides social, ecological and quality requirements that fill in gaps in existing frameworks for the verification of sustainable wild collection. Those include: Respecting customary rights, fair prices and fair trade premium, preventing negative environmental impacts, maintaining wild resources, and applying good management and business practices.

Universal standards

Blair Kellison, the company’s CEO, described the accreditation as more than a marketing exercise: “…investing time and resources in developing new universal standards for wild-collected plants is not a marketing idea. This is an example of how we do business.

“As we are relying on communities all over the world for herbal ingredients that are passed through to our consumers in our products, our deeper involvement in ensuring the sustainability and quality of our supply chain isn’t just humanitarian ethics, it is also sound business practice,” he said.

Of the 3,000 total plant species traded worldwide, only about 900 species – less than one third – are farmed; the rest are collected from the wild. Until now, there has been no framework for measuring Fair Trade practices on these wild-collected herbs. And they are not included under existing Fair Trade standards.

Elder flower

Traditional Medicinals confirm that the FairWild certification applies to organic linden flower its product “Just for Kids” Organic Nighty Night and organic elder flower and organic linden flower in “Just for Kids” Organic Cold Care.

The company also has FairWild certification for organic nettle and licorice. The company says it plans to launch certifiied Organic Throat Coat, Organic Licorice and Organic Nettle products next year.

Bert-Jan Ottens, FairWild Foundation’s head of communication and marketing, said: “Traditional Medicinals has been a key driving force in getting our act together and putting business sense in the designing and applicability of our FairWild Standard.”

The FairWild sustainability standard was established in 2006.