Member of the Month

August 2009: Solidaridad

Duurzame economie begint met solidaridad

1) Who we are: Fair trade is our strength

Solidaridad is an initiator, driving force behind Fair Trade and an active player in organic agriculture. Solidaridad is intensively involved in CSR models such as Utz Certified, Social Accountability International (SAI) and the Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI) and is also active in round-tables for responsible soy and sustainable bio fuels.

Solidaridad is a pioneer, developer and innovator in the field of fair trade. We believe that sustainable economic development is the best solution to structural poverty in developing countries. Companies are taking more and more responsibility for the social impact of their business. Consumers are becoming more critical about where their purchases come from and the conditions under which they were produced. Our partners in developing countries are becoming more and more skilled in producing and trading in quality products. Solidaridad is working with companies, consumers and producers in developing countries to develop people-friendly and environment-friendly production chains.

2) What we do:

a) Chain development
Sustainable trade flows occur when all the links in the chain play their part. This makes organizing support within production chains a core task for Solidaridad and we stimulate chain development at every stage - from farmer to consumer. We increase the knowledge and skills of farmers and labourers in developing countries as well as stimulate improvement in product quality, certification, processing, trade, traceability, financing, purchasing, communication and the marketing of the end product.

b) Producer support
Solidaridad has developed a big program for producer support using a range of instruments to pay consistent attention to training, quality management, financing, exchange of experience, management, efficiency and sales. These services are used by tens of thousands of farmers and other producers all over the world.

c) Certification and traceability
Certification provides a reliable and independent test of the sustainability of the product and the production process. A sustainability label carries a certain weight among traders and consumers. Certification systems supported by Solidaridad include UTZ CERTIFIED, SA – 8,000, Max Havelaar and the EKO label. UTZ CERTIFIED and MADE BY also offer a track and trace system that provides information about the origin of products, thereby increasing the scope for communication about a product's journey from farm to shop.

d) Financing mix
Financing of development co-operation used to come mainly from donations but that has changed. Many people now know about the effectiveness of micro financing, for example. Besides donations, there is now an important role for credit and investment, which can contribute to sustainable chain development in various combinations. Solidaridad sees its task as using these credit funds and investment capital for sustainable economic growth in developing countries. To this end, Solidaridad Business Concepts has entered into a close collaboration with sustainable investors.

d) Marketing and communication
You cannot put sustainable products and services on the market without modern forms of marketing and communication. Solidaridad conducts market research in close collaboration with GfK Panel Services, helps partners with the communications and public relations for their market launches, feeds public debate on relevant issues and maintains contact with interest groups in the production chain and in the society around it. Lobbying the government, the business world and Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) is also part of our way of working.

3) Contact us:

Solidaridad
't Goylaan 15,
3525 AA Utrecht,
The Netherlands.
Tel: +31 (0)30 272 03 13
Fax: + 31 (0)30 272 01 94
E-mail: info@solidaridad.nl
Website: www.solidaridad.nl
Bank account number donations:
IBAN: NL15PSTB0001804444
SWIFT: PSTBNL21

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