Weleda is one of two leading beauty brands worldwide (along with Brasil’s Natura Cometicos) to be the first to obtain the new UEBT certification for sourcing with respect.
UEBT (Union for Ethical Bio Trade) is a non-profit organisation that provides a globally recognised standard for sustainable sourcing and the use of raw materials. The new certification and label was unveiled at the UEBT conference in Paris, 20 June 2018, and will start to appear on packs in 2019.
UEBT certification aims to help consumers tell that they are buying products from a company that treats people and biodiversity with respect.
Bas Schneiders, Head International Strategic Sourcing at Weleda, commented: “With certification we are taking the next step: creating a significant impact for the growers, collectors and producers working for us”.
In order for a brand to be certified, UEBT looks at its entire sourcing system. One part of the process is to validate that the brand has incorporated the requirements from the UEBT standard into its systems for sourcing and processing natural ingredients. Another part of the certification requirements concerns sourcing practices: certified companies need to verify that they have implemented these throughout the supply chains for their natural ingredients. The new UEBT label will first appear on Weleda products in the beginning of next year.
“Sustainability is not a goal for us, but rather a process in which we constantly strive to optimize”
“We have received many awards in recent years for our efforts to achieve sustainability in our supply chains”, explained Annette Piperidis, Manager of Sustainable Sourcing at Weleda. “Sustainability is not a goal for us, but rather a process in which we constantly strive to optimize. For this reason, it was important to us to take our efforts to the next level and to tackle further challenges.”
Rik Kutsch Lojenga, UEBT’s executive director and a global expert on ethical sourcing of natural ingredients, commented: “We are so proud that Weleda has achieved ethical sourcing system certification by the UEBT and will be one of the first brands to place the UEBT trust mark on its products. By meeting our internationally recognised standard, a company assures customers that, when sourcing raw materials, biodiversity is conserved and sourced sustainably, and that all partners along the supply chain are treated equitably and paid fairly”.
Weleda became a full member of the Union for Ethical BioTrade in 2011. With its membership. Weleda reaffirmed its traditional principles of ethical business practice and applied the UEBT standard to its raw material procurement. UEBT values such as conservation, the sustainable use of biodiversity and the fair compensation of all partners in the supply chain, correspond with Weleda’s own long-held principles.