Press Release

Kaiseraugst, CH, 05 Oct 2016 12:00 CEST

DSM’s site at Vouvry has officially been awarded “Fair Trade” certification according to the ESR Standard, which stands for fairness, solidarity and responsibility, 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.

For DSM, fair trade represents a long-term commitment to ethical pricing, creditable working conditions, agricultural education and sustainability for farmers. It’s about dealing transparently and honestly with the people who are responsible for the high quality of DSM’s products. And 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.

DSM’s success at Vouvry comes in the wake of being named the worldwide leader in the Materials industry group in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index. The company is proud of its ongoing commitment to sustainable practices, which has become part of its DNA. It is proud to support Alpine biodiversity and Swiss mountain farmers every day. But trading equitably doesn’t just benefit the producers. Increasingly, DSM’s customers are demanding that the ingredients they buy have fair trade status. For them, it is a business requirement. Fair trade certified ingredients enable them to achieve their own sustainability goals. 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-recognized 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, DSM Director Brighter Living Solutions, 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.”