Soil Association makes organic trade group move

The Soil Association has helped create the Organic Trade Group to represent organic businesses throughout the UK. The industry-led trade group aims to promote sales across organic food, health and beauty and textile markets while maintaining the integrity of organic values and principles.

It will be open to all organic businesses including Soil Association licensees and other certification body licensees and will be led by an advisory committee and chaired by an industry representative.

The group hopes to share “best practice” and work from a consistent set of commercial objectives to benefit members, the environment, farmers, manufacturers, retailers and consumers. The first committee meeting is scheduled for early September. Growth in the UK organic market increased by 30% in 2005, a three-fold rise on the previous year to almost £1.6bn in sales, according to Soil Association figures.