With the slowdown in the global economy, there is some uncertainty about the year ahead for ethical & sustainable industries. At the end of the first month of 2009, Organic Monitor gives its predictions on its specialist industries for the year ahead… 1. Organic Foods Global sales of organic food & drink have been increasing […]

After several years of discussions, the major certification agencies in Europe have finally reached an agreement on harmonising their private standards for natural & organic cosmetics. Soil Association (UK), BDiH (Germany), Ecocert (France), Cosmebio (France), ICEA (Italy) and Ecogarantie (Belgium) have developed common standards for natural and organic cosmetics. The first draft of the new […]

Following the trend in Europe and North America, consumer demand for natural & organic cosmetics is surging in Asia. Asian consumers are increasingly turning to natural & organic cosmetics, with Western brands mainly capitalising on this development. Research by Organic Monitor shows that high consumer demand is leading to many European and American companies to invest in […]

European supermarkets are investing heavily in fairtrade products, with most commitment going to bananas and beverages. A number of leading supermarkets are committing to selling only fairtrade bananas in their stores. Co-op Switzerland was the first to convert all its bananas to fairtrade in 2004. The UK now has the largest market for fairtrade bananas because of […]

Organic Monitor predicts 2008 to be a defining year for the natural cosmetics industry. An industry shake-up is envisaged as widespread adoption of natural & organic standards begins. This will eventually lead to clear lines being drawn between legitimate natural / organic products and pseudo products. The most important development this year will be the […]