Behind every agricultural product, land-based ingredient, textile or service are decisions about sourcing, cultivation, farming, processing, manufacturing and how activities are carried out.

Certification provides a framework for assessing those practices against defined requirements. It helps businesses communicate what has been independently checked and gives buyers information they can examine.

Friend of the Earth brings together published standards, assessment by certification bodies and a label linked to a defined certification scope.

Why these choices matter

Agriculture and land-based supply chains provide food, ingredients, fibres, materials and livelihoods. How they operate matters for natural ecosystems, soil and water resources, wildlife and the people working throughout those supply chains.

Depending on the applicable standard, relevant requirements may address the protection of natural ecosystems, soil and water management, the use of hazardous substances, emissions and waste, traceability, and workers’ health, safety and rights.

Different products and services raise different questions. The requirements relevant to a farm or raw material, for example, differ from those applicable to a processed food, a land-based nutraceutical, a textile product or a service.

For businesses, these considerations affect operational, production and sourcing decisions. For consumers and commercial buyers, they concern information that is rarely visible on a product label or shop shelf.

Certification provides a common point of reference: defined requirements against which the relevant products, processes and activities can be assessed.

Why choose Friend of the Earth

A name that speaks directly to consumers

“Friend of the Earth” uses everyday words and makes an immediate connection with land, nature and the resources on which production depends. With the name written in full on the logo, it gives businesses a clear starting point for explaining certification on packaging and in customer communications.

One label across raw materials and finished products

From crops and livestock-derived products to processed foods, land-based nutraceuticals and textiles, the Friend of the Earth label provides a consistent visual identity across different certified products.

For businesses with products in several categories, this creates a common approach to presenting certification across eligible lines. Each product carrying the label must be covered by the relevant certification scope and logo authorisation.

A visible part of your product communication

The logo can bring certification information into the places where customers discover and compare products: packaging, labels, product pages, catalogues and promotional materials.

Used in accordance with the applicable logo-use rules, it helps businesses make certification visible and gives customers a route to further information.

A connection between the label and the evidence

The label gives customers something to look for. The Friend of the Earth ID gives them a way to investigate further.

Together, they connect the certification message on a product with information that consumers and commercial buyers can check.

What certification means for your business

Whether you grow, raise, harvest, process, manufacture or sell products, or provide services, the starting point is the standard relevant to your activities.

Assessment by a certification body provides a structured process for reviewing conformity with the applicable requirements. The resulting certification scope defines what your business can refer to when communicating certification to customers and commercial partners.

Certification can help your business:

Organise evidence: bring together the records required for assessment.
Respond to purchasing enquiries: provide certification information that customers can review.
Communicate accurately: identify the products, processes or activities covered and the standard that applies.
Support verification: direct customers to the relevant certification record.

The value lies in connecting your certification claims to evidence that others can check.

What the label means for consumers

The Friend of the Earth label identifies certification against an applicable Friend of the Earth standard.

Certification applies to the scope recorded in the certificate. This may cover specified products, farms, production sites, raw materials, supply-chain stages or services. It does not automatically cover every product sold by the same business or brand.

For example, certification of a cocoa farm or cocoa supplier does not, by itself, establish that a finished chocolate product is certified. Finished products must satisfy the applicable traceability or chain-of-custody requirements and be covered by the relevant certification and logo authorisation.

Certification demonstrates conformity with defined requirements and gives buyers a documented basis for examining the practices covered by the relevant standard.

For food and nutraceutical products, certification should be considered alongside other purchasing information, including ingredients, allergens, nutritional information and suitability for individual needs.

How to check certification

Look for the logo. Find the ID. Verify.

Whether you are shopping for yourself or sourcing products for your business:

1. Read the label or claim. Identify the Friend of the Earth certification wording and any Friend of the Earth ID provided.

2. Find the certification record. Search the verification directory and review the certification status.

3. Check what is covered. Match the product, farm, site, raw material or activity to the information in the record.

If you cannot find a matching record, or the scope is unclear, ask for clarification before relying on the claim.

Considering certification for your business

Find out how to have your products, processes or activities assessed against the relevant Friend of the Earth standard.

Why Certification Matters