DSM’s site at Vouvry has officially been awarded 'Fair Trade' certification according to the ESR Standard following an independent audit by Ecocert Environnement.
The site, located in the Swiss canton of Valais, is the home of DSM Personal Care’s natural and organic Alpaflor portfolio.
Since DSM’s Alpaflor range has already been certified as organic, it was a natural progression to seek recognition for its responsible production methods all along the supply chain. During the fair trade audit, Ecocert Environnement were particularly assessing DSM’s policies in areas such as health and safety, respect for the environment, communication with suppliers, and others. The result: all 12 of the Alpaflor products produced at the Vouvry production site received certification.
Fair trade certified ingredients enable customers to achieve their own sustainability goals, and Gaelle Bathany, head global key accounts management DSM Personal Care, underlines “...the tremendous importance of sustainability for our customers, which translates into clear expectations vis-à-vis their ingredient suppliers,” adding, “In today’s market, people want the peace of mind that comes from knowing that the products they buy are ethical and traceable from source to shelf.”
Alpaflor has already received industry-recognised Cosmos and Natrue organic certificates. The concepts of fair trade, organic farming and sustainability are strongly connected in the consumer’s mind. Sustainability, it turns out, is a powerful sales driver. According to Jacobine Das Gupta, director DSM Corporate Sustainability: “The ESR Standard highlights the synergy of the organic and fair trade requirements – a synergy that perfectly reflects DSM’s own deeply held values.”
