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ORGANIC INDIA Earns 2019 Best for the World B Corp Honor

09/26/2019 |
Better World, Uncategorized

For the second year in a row, ORGANIC INDIA USA has earned the “Best for the World Overall” B Corp designation, placing it in the top ten percent among all certified B Corporations.  

To achieve the “Best for the World Overall” designation, companies are evaluated for social and environmental performance, labor practices, governance, environmental sustainability, and community contribution. As a “Best for the World Overall” B Corp, ORGANIC INDIA USA has broken new ground in proving that sustainable, non-exploitative business models can be successful.  

While ORGANIC INDIA USA won high scores in all sectors, including “Mission and Engagement,” “Corporate Culture,” and “Toxic Reduction and Remediation,” of particular significance are its exceptional scores for “Supply Chain Poverty Alleviation.” 

Also called “Global Value Chains,” international supply chains traditionally offer the highest benefits to buyers but perpetuate poverty for suppliers in third world countries. Research shows that profit for product suppliers does not translate to economic advantages for workers or alleviate poverty in the global trade environment.  

The 1960s saw a commercial campaign to industrialize Indian agriculture, called the “Green Revolution.” The seeds, fertilizers and pesticides introduced brought disastrous environmental and economic results — so catastrophic that tens of thousands of farmers were ruined by debt and poverty.   

In the early 1990s, ORGANIC INDIA USA began innovating strategies to upgrade its value chain by working with farmer partners to return their land to certifiable organic status and acquire their crops at fair market value. After 18 years, these methods have brought sweeping economic, cultural, and environmental recovery and significant social change, such as equal pay for women — unheard of in India.  

ORGANIC INDIA USA wishes to dedicate this year’s award to our first farmer partner, Kailash Singh. When the ORGANIC INDIA founders approached small farmers with a proposal to cultivate Tulsi, also known as Holy Basil, the farmers were deeply suspicious, remembering the disastrous effects of the Green Revolution. Kailash Singh was the first farmer to embrace ORGANIC INDIA’s vision of environmental and economic recovery. The following year, one more farmer asked to participate — when asked what changed his mind, he said, “I have seen birds return that I haven’t seen since I was a child.” ORGANIC INDIA now works with over 3,000 farmer partners. 

Tags: B Corp