Ethical Certifications into the Next Decade; Change-Making or Cluttering?

In a world with ever-increasing claims of corporate social responsibility, it is difficult to separate actual commitment from marketing. I have counted seventy four ethical certification labels alone from Rainforest Alliance to One Voice to Ethical Tea Partnership or even Freedom Food and am certain that there are dozens more which have escaped my ten minute google session.

Confused compatriots have approached me in pubs or supermarket alleys to inquire why their soil needs to be certified by the soil association or what the differences are between fair-fish, farmed-fish, line caught, dolphin friendly and Marine Stewardship Council certifications.

Yet at the same time that the proliferation of certifications is causing confusion and doubts, consumers around the world continue to purchase an increasing amount of ethically certified products. Consumers spent an estimated 4 billion dollars on fairtrade certified products alone in 2008 despite the global recession (sales of fairtrade tea increasing most notably by 112%).

In fact, certification labels are becoming so valuable that they are experiencing copy right infringement from knockoffs coming out of China next to fake Gucci bags.

As the first decade of mass ethical certification comes to a close, it also comes to a head. Mounting confusion about the proliferation of certifying brands and skepticism of green-washing creates a potentially fatal cocktail when combined with increasing popularity and profitability of certifying brands.

An important question amongst this whirlwind is what does all this mean for the producer? In many ways the mainstreaming of certification has diluted the goals of the original thinkers on certification and their producer-partners.

Compromises must be made to ensure supply and quality in line with the demands of some of the biggest purchasers of certified goods such as Tesco and Walmart who now represent some of the most important decision makers in the field. The voice of the producer is often lost in the din of certifying bodies and brands clamoring to represent their interests in the name of international development.

How can certifications continue to incorporate more stakeholders and enter mainstream channels in the next decade without compromising the value that has been painstakingly created by the original thought-leaders in the field? Such important questions will be explored in the first ever summit of stakeholders in the ethical certification landscape - Certification Consumption and Change, London, September 29^th. For more details visit www.theinsource.com or contact info@theinsorce.com

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