PURPOSE

The Organic Trade Board is a forum for business leaders from across the UK’s organic movement. Our aims and objectives are:

• To work with members of the organic movement to double the value of organic sales in the United Kingdom in the five years between January 2009 and December 2014;
• To communicate the benefits of organic production methods to the public;
• To be a collective body that can speak on behalf of the organic industry to a range of stakeholders including: Government, Consumer Groups and NGO’s;
• To work to ensure that the highest possible organic standards are upheld at all times.

MEMBERSHIP

Membership is open to organic businesses that ‘major’ on trading in organic. The term ‘organic business’ includes but is not limited to the following: textiles, health and beauty, cleaning & hygiene, and food & beverages, as well as promoting organic related leisure and tourism.

STRUCTURE

A Committee of ten to twelve industry representatives elected to represent member’s interests, to meet at least three times a year to discuss and agree actions necessary to meet the objectives of the group.

Members elect the Committee. The Committee elects the Chair.

GROUP OBJECTIVES

The Organic Trade Board “OTB” is a body that brings together businesses that work with Organic products. The common aims and objectives are:

Upholding organic standards

Consultation on the development of organic standards in the UK, taking a position on legislation that affects organic agriculture and associated products and consumer trust/expectation, representing the industry to regulators, officials and other International bodies.

Reaching the public

Connecting with the public through marketing and communication activity determined by the OTG. The OTG will share the benefits of organic products with industry and the public to help expand markets for organic products.

Growing supply

Working with organic farmer/grower groups to communicate business raw material supply needs and to establish ways of increasing supply in a sustainable manner.

Growing the market

Through working closely with trade shows and Industry Awards and sharing market intelligence. The OTG commissions and shares consumer market data and market trend analyses used to help shape business growth and identify actions needed to protect vulnerable sectors in the market.

Proving the benefits of organic production

Through working with public and private organisations to support scientific research on the environmental, health and nutritional impacts of organic agriculture and its products.

To provide a single collective body that can speak on behalf of the industry to a range of stakeholder bodies including; Government, Consumer Groups, NGO’s etc

To provide guidance to all organic certification bodies on the needs and issues within the industry.

MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS:

A membership package is to be developed by the Committee to benefit market development in the organic sector.

FREQUENCY OF COMMITTEE MEETINGS:

Each current member has been elected for a two year tenure. In future two years will be the maximum tenure of a Committee Member. But in order that the whole committee does not resign in July 2009, half of the original committee members will need to stay on until July 2010.

The committee will meet at least three times a year either in the form of a meeting or a conference call.

MEMBERSHIP COMMUNICATION

All members are invited to submit agenda items and issues for discussion by the OTG Committee via the OTB web-page www.organictradeboard.co.uk

All proposed agendas and minutes of meetings are to be available on the OTB web page.

The key membership contact is Paula Jones, working from the OTB office at The Saxon Centre, 11 Bargates, Christchurch, Dorset BH23 1PZ, Tel 01202 486 245, contact paulaj@organictradeboard.co.uk

MEMBERSHIP COSTS:

For the first two years, to be reviewed in December 2010, the membership fee shall be £200 for non-SA licensees and £100 for SA licensees.

Funding for specific work will be required as proposed by the Committee

October 2008