Why enter into a traditional trade relationship when we can do something more meaningful and put the human element at the centre of the act of purchasing?
Because the idea of abandoning "placing profit above all else" for an ethical sharing of the wealth of all the players, is a value that motivates and inspires us.
It is for this reason that the referencing of a new material at terre d’Oc always goes with a search for Organic and fair trade.
Whenever possible, we sign fair and sustainable partnerships, as close as possible to the producers and with no intermediaries.
Through the support of a collective sector, we make it possible to improve living and working conditions with a positive impact on a whole community.
In the countries of the South where we go regularly to source the materials of our products, the producers' warm welcome, the simple and sincere discussions we share, move and inspire us.
Placing the human element at the heart of the product is a contagious value of empathy and well-being every day!
And what does this mean from practical point of view for the producers?
The various bonuses paid to our fair trade partners serve for the well-being of the producers and their uses are decided collectively: dental care, medical examinations, health insurance, scholarships, purchase of eggs and sheep, training, school supplies, building a canteen…
So many little actions to improve evryday life!
100% of our teas are ORGANIC
terre d’Oc regularly builds on European Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 pertaining to the organic production and the labelling of organic products to guarantee the compliance of the teas and herbal teas.
For the flavouring of the teas, we apply European Regulation (EC) No 1334/2008 pertaining to flavouring and certain food ingredients which have flavouring properties.
These requirements are entered into the specifications and controlled throughout the supply chain by independent bodies which certify the teas.
We carry out the tracability and the continuity of quality control at all stages from the design of the product to its sale.
Inspection at all levels of manufacture
Focus on Ecocert certification
terre d’Oc has entrusted Ecocert with following-up the meeting of the specifications and the carrying out of inspections.
Thus, every year, two audits on all the production stages of the product are carried out:
• Importing of organic teas,
• Quality control,
• Storage,
• Flavouring,
• Packaging,
• Packaging compliance,
• Communication and sales.
A certification which guarantees the organic quality of our products.
BIOPARTENAIRE is an association that supports its members in the development and maintaining of organic, fair trade or solidairy sectors.
The label is allocated on condition of a universal approach which aims at fair payment of a quality production to keep producers in their activity.
We are convinced that social and economic development go hand in hand with the protection of ecosystems. This approach is based on a long-term contractualisation and on permanent partnership commitment.
The sectors are developped in organic farming to guarantee the durability of the production systems, the autonomy of the producers and human health.
The brand is granted on the respect of the Fair For Life benchmark and is subject to an annual inspection. Currently, three of terre d’Oc's organic and fair trade sectors meet the requirements of the Biopartenaire® approval and other sectors are pending finalisation.
Faced with the consumer society we are living in and which is speeding up, companies have the choice of either following the movement or adopting an "out of context" position based on a will to lead their firm in a different way.
Mindful of social, environmental and ethical preoccupations, from the start terre d’Oc adopted a guideline which governs our acts and choices on a daily basis.
In 2010 we took part in the regional platform on the development of the ISO 26000 standard, and put a name to our practices: corporate social responsibility (CSR). What for us is logical in all our decisions, is an approach to follow and to impose on ourselves for others.
Our Organic certified products, with fair trade raw materials, led us quite naturally to CSR certification of the company's activity in 2011. terre d’Oc deliberately joined For Life with the aim of assessing its guidelines and improving its practices with a current performance level of 95.7%.
For Life is an international benchmark that guides and assesses companies in their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
The Fair for Life benchmark for our sectors
Each contributor in the chain is audited and inspected by an independent body every year.
This benchmark provides a guarantee to our fair trade supply sectors. Each entity in the chain is audited by an independent body every year.
Our long-term commitment (a minimum of 3 years) to our partners bears on the will to share wealth fairly: together we calculate the cost price of the raw material and we commit to buying it at 10% more than the price on the conventional market.
We also give a 5% bonus of our purchases to the group or cooperative used to improve the living conditions of the producers according to their needs.
It is under these conditions that we can really claim to have a fair trade approach because it is the foundation of a trade which enables groups or cooperatives to strengthen their collective capacities, reduce costs by pooling tools and making a more decent living from their work.
In addition to this, the credibility given to the raw material by Fair For Life certification adds value and opens other market shares to the product, thus attracting customers who are attached to ethical production values. Every year, our fair trade sectors and actions are checked and assessed. In 2018, our performance level reached 96.7%.
The principle: give 1% of you turnover to finance projects from associations who work everywhere for a better world.
To date, 3500 organisations have been impressed by the actions of this club which was created in 2002.
We joined this worldwide movement in 2018 and financed through the Fondation Nature et Découvertes, nature immersion educational projects to discover biodiversity, farming, vegetable production and different natural environments: forests, mountains, oceans...
And also more miltant projects such as the "Nous voulons des coquelicots" (we want poppies) Every year, during the meeting in October of sponsors, we support our "favourites" for associations pitching live:
• The development of wells and latrines for Burkina Faso,
• The planting of little urban forests,
• The integration of asylum-seekers on farms in permaculture,
• The raising of awareness on the dangers of pesticides,
are all projects elected by the staff and supported at meetings. But all the projects are worthy of our support!
« MiniBigForest » Winner in 2019 in the category « Mouvements écocitoyens » (Ecocitizen movements) during the Rencontres Associations Philanthropes
Sustainable Development Goals
Adopted by the UN in 2015, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) must encourage Countries to commit to actions to fight inequality, adapt to climate change, respect the environment and eradicate extreme poverty.
Pessimists will qualify the programme as being utopian, but we must all join it: public bodies, associations and enterprises, to reduce differences.
The actions are monitored and assessed via 232 indicators in the world to change illegal practices by 2030.
The United Nations Pact
In 2000, Kofi Annan, then Secretary General of the UN, launched an appeal to bodies, enterprises of the civil society and the professional world for a common and voluntary commitment where sustainable development is concerned.
Supported by 10 principles of respect for human rights, work standards, environmental protection and the fight against corruption, the member countries transmit every year a Communication on Progress; a document which presents their actions and certifies to the progress achieved.
terre d’Oc joined this virtuous movement in 2009 to structure and develop its corporate social responsibility approach.
Currently, the United Nations Pact now numbers 1300 organisations in France.
Every year in France, investigations make it possible to complete 98 indicators to assess the progress achieved by all the players. terre d’Oc became interested by the SDG in 2017 for the purpose of classifying its CSR actions deployed and bring its contribution on other fields of action in its activity.
Our ethical charter
Whatever the changes taking place in the world, our commitment to maintaining our rules in the matter of business ethics, integrity and respect for individual rights remains unchanged.
Our teams draw from our ethical charter which dictates our values, rights and duties towards our suppliers, customers and stakeholders.
The diversity charter
Why sign the Diversity Charter?
Because we recognize ourselves in these commitments, and also because business diversity is a source of performance: stereotypes and discriminations of all types have no place in the firm. We must apply ethical practices where management is concerned, seek collaborators on skills criteria using practical tests.
We must integrate people in difficulty or with handicaps, adapt workstations to workers' capacities, reconcile private and professional life… A given in the management of human resources!
Our internal ethical charter: trade ethics, guidelines, fight against corruption...
Our guidelines inform our suppliers on our expectations: respect for competition and loyalty, Human rights, transparency, confidentiality, respect for legality, working and environmental conditions, and of course the fight against corruption.
Referencing our organic teas
... These voyages challenge us and make us leave our comfort zone. A return to the "essentials", to better understand our partners, to help and support them, which touches our soul...
Referencing a raw material is a simple act for most firms: all you need is a contact, a few controlled samples and to sign a proper contract.
For some entrepreneurs, the approach is not as simple, especially when it is essential to source the teas and products abroad and at the same time keep certain environmental and social criteria in mind.
We could be satisfied with just sending a questionnaire, ordering a "supplier" audit from an independent consulting firm, reading the conclusions and validating them. This would mean bypassing everything which makes up the essence of our work and our teas: rich encounters, smiles exchanged, conversations with women on their work and their lives which are devoid of anything superfluous.
Our curious minds feed on the discovery of a culture and its rites, and our eyes are filled with these unusual and unique landscapes. Beyond what is given to us so warmly to see, taste, smell and touch.
Our environmental approach
When organic raw materials are used by conviction to make organically-certified products, it is logical to standardize this approach through a corporate global commitment: to assess the impacts of our activity on the environment, raise the awareness of the teams to gestures for reducing waste, for energy saving, for reducing water use and transport...
A project that unites and federates. It results in a strong mobilisation of the teams: each department has a pilot to lead action plans and follow the improvements by means of indicators.
This is the challenge we rose to in 2007, using the ISO 14001 standard as a tool, and we were certified in 2009, rewarding the collective efforts of the staff.
Every year, before the Bureau Véritas audit, we report during a « greening » of all the pilots and make the most of this period to discover an environmentally-linked activity.
In practice...
Road-rail services
More than 40% of our transport of products to our customers in France is carried out by road-rail services, therefore reducing our CO² emissions by 7.6 tommes per year.
Our business travel
We use audioconferencing whenever we can for our customer and supplier meetings, and this enabled a decrease of 15% of our business travel in 2018.
Transport of our goods
For our purchases of tea and endemic raw materials, we use only maritime transport.
All our packages delivered by the Post Office are carbon neutral.
Our waste
83.5% of our waste was recovered in "material" recycling sectors after internal sorting in 2018.
The suppliers
76% of our purchases are made in France, 6% in Europe and 18 % in the world.
Our stationery
44 eco-approved products are referenced.
The paper
23% less purchases of reams of recycled paper in 2018, 3.5 tonnes of recycled paper over 5 years and 95% of supplier payment is dematerialized.
Eco-design
Packages in 100% cardboard from managed forests, 0% PVC, respect for the principles of eco-design in all our product developments, display furniture in cardboard or wood, referencing of biosourced and compostable items
Individual initiatives
Used cartons and wedging elements are recovered according to size, our suppliers are aware of our wish to reduce packaging and all the printing is grouped onto one label...
Energy
From 2020, terre d’Oc will finance a production of renewable energy equivalent to our electricity consumption.
Water
Adjusting our machines, optimising uses and leak tracking all enable a stable consumption along with an increase of our turnover.
A shared organic garden
Growing our organic vegetables in permaculture and getting together in natural surroundings to share a good time!
This is how we can summarize the benefits of our garden which we created a few months ago, after a training in permaculture and the advice of two vegetable growers in the field.
80 m² of vegetables have seen the light under the curious and amused eyes of the staff of whom most are new to gardening.
Clearing, shallow tillage, sowing, planting and the pleasure of harvesting the vegetables right through the summer. A little bit of nature where we can recharge our batteries, learn and produce… together.
