Conventional cocoa is not sustainable

20 years of voluntary sustainability efforts in the cocoa sector have not shown any success. This is the conclusion drawn by the editors of the Cocoa Barometer 2020. There is also room for improvement in organic cocoa.

Textile certifier GOTS uncovers fraud with Indian organic cotton

By own investigations the eco-textile standard GOTS has detected a fraud with falsified certificates. The case concerns 20.000 tons of alleged organic cotton from India.

Sustainable Cosmetics Summit: Cosmetics in a post-Covid society

The European and North American editions of the Sustainable Cosmetics Summit were hosted on online platforms this year. The summits brought together executives from the beauty industry to discuss sustainability issues. Ecovia intelligence has now compiled the corner marks of the two summits.

Veggieworld: New partner, new dates for 2021

After the organizer got into an imbalance due to the corona crisis, the surrender of the trademark rights saved the international trade fair from having to go out of business. The dates for spring 2021 are already fixed.

Online premiere for Sustainable Foods Summit in North America

Covid-19 is changing the way consumers do their groceries and how they eat. Raw material supply chains and food product distribution are also influenced by the international pandemic. The resulting challenges and opportunities for the industry will be discussed at the first digital North American Edition of the  Sustainable Foods Summit on 25^th-28^th January 2021.

Last days of registration: IFOAM Organics Europe Meets Business 2020

From 8^th-9^th December, the third edition of IFOAM Organics EU’s platform for organic or related businesses will take place online. Registrations are still open for interested parties.

Alnatura: Sales exceed one billion for the first time

Organic retailer Alnatura was able to increase its sales by 20 percent in the past fiscal year. Founder Götz Rehn attributes this success to the fact that customers appreciate authentic products.

Full-range supplier Veganz exceeds own sales targets

In the first nine months of the year, the revenues of the specialist for plant-based foods rose by over ten percent. Above all Veganz could develop its market position significantly by introducing new products.

Natrue introduces new criteria

At the turn of the year, the Natural Cosmetics Association updates the criteria for its natural and organic cosmetics seal. These are the changes of the new version 3.9.

Consumers think producers have the biggest impact on limiting environmental damage

For consumers, environmental protection increasingly plays a role in their purchasing decisions. According to a GfK study, children play a significant role in this.

Children still work for cocoa

A new study proves: Around 1.5 million children work under exploitative conditions on cocoa plantations in West Africa. Around 70 percent of the cocoa processed in Germany is grown there.

Biofach and Vivaness go digital

In 2021 Biofach and Vivaness will take place as a purely digital format. The World’s Leading Trade Fair for Organic  Food and the International Trade Fair for Natural and Organic Personal Care will be held as a Biofach/Vivaness eSpecial.

Group Certification in the South: Digitalisation should be key to integrity

The EU Commission’s proposal to further regulate group certification has raised great concern within the organic community. Instead of limiting the size of grower groups to 2,000 members, we should help them to professionalise by going digital.

Veggie-Burger may still be called Burger

The EU Parliament has not approved the proposal to ban certain names such as "Schnitzel" for plant-based substitutes. Instead, the marketing of vegan dairy product alternatives will be further restricted.

EU Agricultural Ministers agree on common position on CAP

The EU member states have agreed on a binding standard for environmental and climate protection with which they will enter into negotiations with the EU Parliament. The standard provides for a little more environmental protection, but otherwise leaves most things as they are.

Agriculture Ministers welcome EU Farm to Fork strategy

The ministers are united behind the Brussels strategy for sustainable agriculture. However, the fact that the CAP reform would have to set the course for this does not seem to play a major role. 

Monsanto opponent and activist Percy Schmeiser has died

A lawsuit with the U.S. seed producer that lasted for years made the Canadian farmer and his wife global pioneers for more biodiversity. Last week Schmeiser died. His story lives on in the cinema.

Austrian organic food market grows despite Corona

In the first half of 2020, Austrians spent almost 20 percent more money on fresh organic food than in the same period last year. This and more details were reported by Agrarmarkt Austria Marketing (AMA). 

How Covid-19 impacts sustainability in the natural cosmetics industry

The Corona pandemic has changed the way consumers buy and how they use cosmetic products as well as it has changed the whole industry from raw materials supply to the distribution of products. The resulting challenges and opportunities for the industry will be discussed at the first digital European Sustainable Cosmetics Summit on 2-5 November 2020.

German government rejects CO2 labeling of food

Consumers should be able to see directly how big the footprint of food is. A corresponding petition by oat milk specialist Oatly made it to the German parliament - but was rejected.