Our achievements

Organic on every table

For us, Organic on every table means high-quality and healthy food becoming more widely available. In pursuing this goal, we were met with challenges in 2022 due to the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, which raised concerns about food security, trade implications, and the availability of agricultural inputs. This in turn delayed the EU’s regulation setting ambitious pesticide reductions and put into question the organic targets laid out in the Farm to Fork (F2F) Strategy. Instead of finding a systemic solution, the agrichemical industry saw this crisis as a chance to push tech-focused, narrow-minded solutions leveraging a narrative according to which EU food sovereignty is under threat due to insufficient production.

 In our letter to MEPs on 17 March, we responded by emphasising the need to rethink the food production system, aligning with the objectives of the Farm to Fork. Contrary to calls for rolling back environmental policies, IFOAM Organics Europe asserted that these strategies are crucial for building a resilient, independent, and sustainable food production system.  

At IFOAM Organics Europe’s 20^th anniversary celebration event, Franz Timmermans, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission criticised the argument that increasing food production is the best solution to food insecurity, and urged for a long-term view on food security, adding that “there will be no food shortages in Europe”. There is a global food crisis which is not based on food scarcity but rather because “we cannot get enough food from where it’s produced to where it’s needed”.

Guiding organic actors through the new EU Organic Regulation

In a milestone year for organic agriculture, 2022 witnessed the activation of the new EU Organic Regulation (EU) 2018/848. However, the conclusion of 2021 saw the publication of numerous delegated and implementing regulations linked to the EU Organic Regulation. Recognising the complexity of this new regulatory landscape, IFOAM Organics Europe took a proactive approach to ensure a clear understanding of the new rules. 

As part of our commitment to supporting our members, we launched online guidelines aimed at helping organic actors navigate the intricacies of the new regulations. This user-friendly resource facilitates a better understanding of the new regulatory framework and promotes transparency within the organic community. Our guidelines, which have registered over 500 subscribers, took several steps in making the new regulations clearer and more accessible, such as: 

• Consolidating the new EU Organic Regulation and its secondary legislation by grouping areas; 
• Provided definitions, recitals, and articles of other EU legislations;  
• Highlighted main changes compared to previous EU Organic Regulations; 
• Provided comments and explanations of unclear points or of points where there is room for interpretation. 

In 2022, we also confronted the subject of pesticide residue in organic farming, often causing issues for organic stakeholders whose production takes place in a contaminated world with the omnipresence of pesticides. Therefore, in the context of finding common approach for the organic sector on dealing with residue findings under the relevant rules set by the EU Organic Regulation, we launched the project: “Developing Organic: Pesticides Use and Contamination”. The basic objectives of the project were to understand the level of pesticide presence affecting the food and farming sector and reach a fair legislative framework for organic agri-food in case of residue findings.  As part of this project, we were able to deliver a scientific article published in the Journal of Environmental Pollution. The article found that organic produce is at risk of environmental, technically unavoidable pesticide contamination and that there are uncertainties regarding the transition of contaminants into non-target foods.

Ensuring pesticide use is measured correctly

In 2022, we actively advocated for EU institutions to uphold the commitments laid out in the Farm to Fork Strategy, which includes a 50% reduction target in the use and risk of chemical pesticides by 2030. In this regard, we were concerned by the lobbying tactics used by the pesticide industry and relayed by other lobbies and political actors to undermine the EU’s Farm to Fork. These included several attempts to postpone and derail the Sustainable Use of Pesticide Regulation (SUR) setting legally binding targets on synthetic pesticide reduction.  

On 28 February we co-signed a joint statement with more than 70 other NGOs to provide recommendations on the SUR and criticize the lack of ambition in the current proposal. On 21 March, together with other civil society organisations, we sent a joint letter calling on the Commission to stand by its commitment to the Farm to Fork and Biodiversity Strategies. In the letter, we expressed concern over the repeated attacks on the Farm to Fork Strategy, which intensified since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. We also refuted the argument that the targets set by the SUR and Farm to Fork would lead to lower yields and threaten food security in the EU.  Moreover, we co-signed other two letters, on 13 June and on 10 November, urging the European Commission and Parliament to adopt the SUR proposal without further delays and to resist attempts to weaken it. In these letters, we emphasised that the massive use of synthetic pesticides already has a negative impact on human health, on biodiversity including pollinators, as well as on water and soil quality. 

While overall we welcomed the Commission’s proposal on the sustainable use of pesticides, we were concerned that the indicator proposed to measure progress towards the 30% pesticide reduction by 2030 was the Harmonised Risk Indicator 1 (HRI-1). This volume-based indicator has been found by the European Court of Auditors to be inappropriate for measuring pesticide reduction and it systematically overestimates the risk of natural substances used in organic farming compared to synthetic substances. Due to the flawed nature of this indicator, we took the initiative in advocating against its use along with other NGOs. Together with PAN Europe, Global 2000, and Save Bees and Farmers Initiative, we held a press conference on the topic of HRI-1, where we called for a more suitable indicator for measuring pesticide reduction. We proposed the French indicator NODU as a model for a possible new indicator, as it gives information on the intensity of the use of pesticides and does not discriminate against natural substances.

Preparing for the fight to keep Europe’s food GMO-free

In 2022, we actively opposed the deregulation of “New Genomic Techniques” (NGTs), or new Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), and took several actions in this direction. We collaborated with other like-minded NGOs to coordinate actions, participated in technical meetings with DG SANTE and DG GROW, and did extensive preparatory work for 2023. However, some developments set a worrying tone for the political agenda regarding GMOs. Notably, an informal meeting of the EU Ministers of Agriculture on 15-16 September used the pretext of climate change adaptation, increasing yield, and international economic competitiveness to encourage the relaxation of rules on new genomic techniques. 

In April, the Commission launched a 12-week consultation period in the context of the Impact Assessment for the new legislation on New Genomic Techniques, which took the form of a questionnaire available on the “Have Your Say” website. As IFOAM Organics Europe, we provided input to the consultation, although we found it to have serious shortcomings. In particular, we objected to its failure to name concrete options on how the new rules could look like, thereby preventing the organic sector from providing concrete feedback on different ways forward. An ad-hoc briefing on the NGTs consultation was organised for IFOAM Organics Europe members on 1st July 2022. In this briefing, IFOAM Organics Europe presented to its members the Commission’s consultation and potential impacts of the new legislation on organic food & farming and encouraged them to participate as well. 

The consultation period was followed by a public survey in which NGOs were invited to participate. However, our concerns over the biased nature of the survey and the consultation prompted us to co-sign two letters addressed to Commissioner Stella Kyriakides. The first letter, sent on 4 October, was co-signed with several other NGOS, while the second was signed on 15 December together with ENGA – European Non-GMO Industry Association. With these letters, we called on the Commission to repeat those parts of the impact assessment that fall short of the required standards. We also emphasised the need to maintain transparency and freedom of choice and raised concerns about potential conflicts with the Farm to Fork Strategy. 

IFOAM Organics Europe was prominent in spreading awareness of the danger of NGTs to the EU public. In collaboration with Save our Seeds, we organized the GMO-free Europe Event on 17 November, bringing together diverse stakeholders to scrutinise proposals and take a collective stand against the potential relaxation of regulations. The event garnered substantial participation, both online and in person, with over 250 attendees and 22 competent speakers representing a variety of stakeholder groups, representatives of GMO-free Regions, scientists, farmers, producers, retailers, and consumers as well as NGOs, civil servants, and politicians. Furthermore, together with various stakeholders, IFOAM Organics Europe supported EU-wide and national petitions urging for regulation and labelling in the context of GMOs and new genomic techniques, such as the “Keep new GM food strictly regulated and labelled” petition.  This petition reached more than 420.000 signatures, was run in 17 European countries, and was shared by a coalition of around 50 organisations.

 Ensuring the regulation of new genetic techniques remains a key priority for IFOAM organics Europe as there is not enough scientific data and no long-term studies available to properly evaluate the risks that NGTs might present. According to the European Court of Justice’s ruling of 25 July 2018, these new techniques of genetic modification are GMO and must be regulated as such. If new genetic engineering techniques were to escape EU regulations, any potential negative effects on food, feed or environmental safety would go unchecked. European consumers, farmers, and breeders would have no way to avoid GMOs.

Ensuring the availability of organic seeds

The EU Organic Regulation came into force on January 1st, 2022, marking a significant milestone for organic production. However, the initial implementation left certain details unresolved, particularly concerning the production of seedlings and other vegetative materials for organic cultivation. The European Commission addressed these issues through a Delegated Act (DA), providing further clarification. Under this DA, organically produced seedlings and vegetative Plant Reproductive Material (PRM) derived from conventional seed and parent plants are permitted to bear the organic logo. IFOAM Organics Europe welcomed this development, emphasising its positive impact. Notably, the formulation of the DA resulted from extensive collaboration involving the EU Commission, the organic sector, and Member of the MEP Martin Häusling, the rapporteur in the European Parliament on the Organic Regulation.

Increasing demand for organic by promoting public procurement

In 2022, IFOAM Organics Europe actively engaged in promoting sustainability in public food procurement, evident through our involvement in the legal framework on sustainable food systems. Through our work within the Food Policy Coalition (FPC), we reinforced the idea that public procurement serves as a catalyst for food system transformation and also that sustainable procurement is successful and cost-effective. The FPC was created informally in 2019 and aims towards policy integration and alignment at the EU level to facilitate the transition to sustainable food systems. It brings together civil society organisations working towards refining and advocating for a shared vision of sustainable food systems at the EU level. IFOAM Organics Europe co-leads the FPC Task Force on Public Procurement, together with ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability.

To make sustainable public food procurement a mainstream issue at the European level, we decided to participated in the Buy Better Food Campaign, where we advocate for mandatory criteria in public food procurement to be included in the Sustainable Food System Framework Initiative. We broadened our commitment to this issue by organising a roundtable on organic canteens on 28 March, bringing together relevant actors in the field to exchange best practices regarding organic products in public procurement. In addition, we provided feedback to the European Commission’s public consultation on Sustainable Food Systems, also through exchanges with our members and partners, including SchoolFood4Change. We also promoted an EU-wide petition initiated by Buy Better Food Campaign “A healthy meal for every child in every EU school”, aligning with the EU Farm to Fork. Additionally, we collaborated on the “Manifesto for establishing minimum standards for public canteens across the EU”, which was authored by ICLEI. The manifesto aimed to inspire the European Commission and the EU Member States, as well as regional and local public authorities, with seven actionable propositions for establishing minimum standards for public canteens in Europe and specifically wanted to set a goal to reach 20% organic in public procurement. After garnering support from 21 NGOs, it was made public on 11 October, at an event of the Committee of the Regions, and officially handed out to Alexandra Nikolakopoulou, Head of Unit Farm to Fork Strategy in DG SANTE. On 16 December, the FPC Task Force on Public Procurement met with Mr. Lukas Visek, member of the Cabinet of the Executive Vice-President Timmermans, and Ms. Annukka Ojala, Deputy Head of the Cabinet of Commissioner Stella Kyriakides, to discuss how the Manifesto can be used concretely in the Farm to Fork Strategy.

Ensuring the CAP 2023-2027 contributes to EU’s organic targets

The year 2022 kicked off with significant developments in the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). On 11 January 2022, COMAGRI approved most of the CAP 2023-2027 Regulation’s delegated and implemented acts. Simultaneously, Member States faced a crucial deadline, required to submit their CAP Strategic Plans outlining their strategies to realise the goals set in the CAP 2023-2027. To reach the EU’s target of 25% agricultural land under organic production by 2030, the Common Agricultural Policy is key. This policy can drive the domestic production of organic land, crops, and livestock. Since its last reform, each Member State must realise this growth by creating national Strategic Plans to stimulate its organic sector. In 2022, the organic movement worked hard to ensure these national plans considered organic practices. For this, IFOAM Organics Europe was in very close contact with its national members, specifically those part of its Interest Group of Organic Farmers (IGOF), with whom we had several meetings dedicated to the CAP reforms.

In a subsequent CDG on Direct Payments and Greening on 18 March, we actively addressed questions related to organic farming practices, leading to the European Commission committing to send observations on organic farming to specific states. In June 2022, we amplified our advocacy efforts by publishing a press release, sharing our observations, and raising demands to both Member States and the Commission. We called on Member States to integrate the Commission’s observations, enhancing their support for organic farming. Simultaneously, we urged the Commission to continue their dialogue with Member States, ensuring modifications to plans that increase interventions and budgets for organic practices.

In the context of making the CAP we also launched the Horizon Europe project OrganicTargets4EU, led by IFOAM Organics Europe, which started on 1 September 2022. Its goal is to help achieve the EU’s Farm to Fork targets of 25% organic farmland by 2030 and increase organic aquaculture. The project analyses optimal areas for organic farming, studies socio-economic impacts, provides evidence on organic food demand drivers, and supports advisory services. The project results will be discussed in a multi-actor policy dialogue, and it will make recommendations for the CAP strategic plans and EU/national organic action plans from 2025-2027 and from 2028 onwards.

Making sure organic fertilisers are available

Responding to the urgent need to address nutrient pollution, the European Commission has introduced the Integrated Nutrient Management Action Plan (INMAP), marking a pivotal step toward the EU’s target of reducing nutrient losses by 50%. IFOAM Organics Europe actively contributes to this initiative, advocating for organic farming as a cornerstone of sustainable nutrient management. Our involvement in the Commission’s public consultation on the future INMAP underscores our commitment to integrating organic principles into the plan, fostering agricultural practices in harmony with nature. To fortify our position, we launched a Task Force on Recycled Fertilisers, seeking a unified organic movement stance on recycled inputs aligned with organic farming principles. This initiative strengthens the organic sector’s voice in sustainable nutrient management. During 2022, IFOAM Organics Europe policy staff and task force members worked on a position paper detailing our recommendations for the INMAP. Furthermore, they met twice with DG ENVI’s policy officers drafting the INMAP to explain our recommendations and highlight how INMAP could answer to the foreseen growing need for natural substances arising from the Farm to Fork Strategy’s 25% organic farmland by 2030 target. 

The three-month public consultation on the INMAP presented a key opportunity for the organic movement to champion a holistic approach to plant nutrition. IFOAM Organics Europe encouraged active participation, stressing the importance of collective engagement in shaping sustainable agricultural practices. In August, we provided feedback to the Commission’s public consultation, underscoring the need to position organic farming at the core of the INMAP. Aligned with the Farm to Fork’s 25% organic target, our suggestions include advocating for waste separation, endorsing certified production processes, and promoting the authorisation of more natural fertilisers. Despite these efforts, the EU Commission’s Communication on fertilisers raised concerns. Short-term fixes to the existing fertiliser system, postponing necessary changes for sustainability, were highlighted. In response, IFOAM Organics Europe, along with 9 NGOs, co-signed a letter urging the Commission to set a long-term vision for the farming sector’s sustainability in the upcoming Fertilisers Strategy and to avoid further delays in the publication of the INMAP. In the letter, we emphasised the need for reduced dependence on synthetic fertiliser imports and advocated for farming practices that employ system approaches and alternatives, such as organic fertilisers and improved nutrient recycling. As we navigate the complexities of nutrient management, IFOAM Organics Europe remains active in promoting practices that address environmental concerns, contributing to the broader goals of sustainability and organic agriculture. 

Improve-Inspire-Deliver

The roadmap’s second pillar to achieve our vision for 2030 is Improve – Inspire – deliver. In view of this, in 2022, we firmly maintained our commitment to advocating for key issues at the intersection of environmental and food policy. Our focus was on promoting knowledge of organics and demonstrating the solutions they can provide to address challenges in food systems.

In a novelty for the organic movement, the first Organics Europe Youth Event (OEYE) took place on 31 August-1 September 2022 in Frick, Switzerland. It encouraged youth interested and active in organic to join the two-day event to discuss and learn about the potential & challenges of organic production and its role as a sustainable food system. The Youth Event brought together young people with diverse backgrounds: from farmers to retailers and processors, from activists to politicians. The event fostered cross-fertilisation between different disciplines and generated innovative ideas for the future of organic production.

Positioning organic as part of the solution to climate, soil & biodiversity crises

As part of our advocacy efforts in environmental policy, we engaged with the European Commission’s initiative on ‘Sustainable Carbon Cycles’. This communication, presented in December 2021, outlines strategies to bolster carbon sequestration and elevate the prominence of carbon farming in the European context.

 In September 2022, the European Commission opened a public consultation on the Soil Monitoring Law. This law aims to specify the conditions for healthy soil, determines options for monitoring soil, and lays out rules conducive to sustainable soil use and restoration. IFOAM Organics Europe replied to the public consultation of the European Commission asking for input from stakeholders. In our feedback, we asked the Commission to recognise organic farming as a practice for the sustainable use of agricultural soil. To further showcase the environmental benefits of organic, we published a comprehensive document compiling scientific research showing its benefits for climate and biodiversity. The document details how organic farming offers a systemic approach to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and increasing soil carbon sequestration while sustaining healthy soils and protecting biodiversity.

Ensuring better data collection on organic farming

On 3 November 2022, we signed a joint contribution with 15 NGOs on the Commission’s public consultation on an implementing act of the Statistics on Agricultural Inputs and Outputs (SAIO) Regulation. The implementing act wants to ensure digitalisation of pesticide use records across the EU and therefore a better collection of data.

Innovating farming beyond technology

Organic farmers, processors, companies, and civil society groups are eager to work with researchers to help organic deliver on its principles and transform Europe’s food and farming system. IFOAM Organics Europe represents and engages all these actors in the projects in which it takes part. We bring the latest research findings to practitioners and ensure research meets their needs and expectations. We also help building the organic sector’s innovation capacity and have ample experience setting up science-practice-policy dialogues.  

In 2022, we were involved in projects aiming to enhance the flow of knowledge, best practices, and innovations in agriculture and organic farming. These projects focused on creating platforms, networks, and methodologies that facilitate collaboration, learning, and the adoption of innovative practices among practitioners in the agricultural community. By fostering organic innovation, we contribute to the sustainability and competitiveness of the organic sector.

In view of this, we continued our work in the:

• NEFERTITI project focused on methodologies for knowledge exchange to boost the uptake of innovation and improve peer-to-peer learning;

• Organic Farm Knowledge platform providing access to a wide range of tools and resources about organic farming that can help improve production; 

• BIOFRUITNET project aiming to strengthen the competitiveness of European organic fruit production through strong knowledge networks; 

• EU-FarmBook project supporting agricultural knowledge exchange by developing and maintaining an easily accessible EU-wide digital platform;

• EUREKA project building a European knowledge repository for best agricultural practices.

In 2022 we made further strides in promoting organic production and innovation by co-organising the first edition of the EU Organic Awards. The annual European Organic Awards reward the most excellent and innovative actors in the organic value chain. Jointly organised by the European Commission, the European Economic and Social Committee, the European Committee of the Regions, COPA-COGECA, and IFOAM Organics Europe, they aim to stimulate organic production by sharing the inspiring stories of actors who achieved excellence in this field. In 2022 the awards were given to 8 winners in 8 different categories: 

• Best organic farmer (male): David Pejic (Croatia)
• Best organic farmer (female): Nazaret Mateos Álvarez (Spain)
• Best organic city: Gemeinde Seeham am Obertrumer See (Austria)
• Best organic region: Occitanie (France)
• Best organic bio-district: Associazione Bio-Distretto Cilento (Italy) 
• Best organic SME: Goodvenience.bio GmbH (Germany)
• Best organic food retailer: La Ferme à l’Arbre de Liège (Belgium)
• Best organic restaurant: Lilla Bjers HB (Sweden) 

Advocating for organic research and innovation – TP ORGANICS

As IFOAM Organics Europe, we continued hosting and taking a leading role in TP Organics. In 2022, TP Organics followed the development and implementation of two new European Research & Innovation Partnerships: 

• The partnership candidate on agroecology living labs and research infrastructures (in short: Agroecology Partnership); and  
• The one on sustainable food systems for people, planet and climate (in short: Sustainable Food Systems Partnership). 

TP Organics also launched a new study, “Organic living labs and lighthouse farms in Europe”. It puts the spotlight on seven living labs and five lighthouse farms in the organic sector in Europe, putting farmers at the centre of research, innovation, and knowledge exchange.

Finding alternatives to contentious inputs in organic

IFOAM Organics Europe aims to reduce the exposure of organic farming to external inputs.  A cornerstone of our efforts in this area was the RELACS project, which came to an end on 29 April 2022. RELACS promoted the development and adoption of environmentally safe and economically viable tools, and technologies to reduce the use of external inputs in organic farming systems. IFOAM Organics Europe was responsible for the communication and dissemination of project results as well as the coordination of the science-practice-policy dialogue. We would like to thank all actors involved for turning great ideas into reality. Before it ended, the project had produced 26 scientific papers, 20 practical guidelines, 8 deliverables and reports, three roadmaps, and one new video. The research heritage of RELACS will certainly guide many future developments in organic crop production.

 

Fair play – Fair pay

The roadmap’s third pillar to achieve our vision for 2030 is ‘Fair play – Fair pay’.  In 2022, we committed to increasing credibility, fairness and transparency in the organic value chain. In particular, we focused on fighting greenwashing and ensuring labels would not deceive consumers. Europe needs to develop and adopt a basic set of key indicators showing the impacts on soil quality, water use, waste production, energy, and suchlike. For food systems to be transparent and fair, all actors need to work together to ensure that value and power are fairly distributed among all the operators in the system, and that the costs and benefits of food production are accounted for. 

Ensuring labels don’t deceive

The position of IFOAM Organics Europe is that a label should have a score based on the indicators that reflect the complexities of the agri-food system rather than a narrow metric. In 2022 our work on ensuring that labels do not deceive consumers focused on sustainability labelling and nutrition labelling. 

While we are committed to fighting greenwashing, we criticised the European Commission’s efforts to substantiate green claims. Most notably, we objected the choice of the Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) as the methodology to measure the environmental impact of food products. We voiced our concerns by publishing a position paper on sustainability labelling and the Planet-Score in which we emphasised the need for robust methodologies that go beyond the limitations of the PEF. In the paper, we observed that life cycle analysis (LCA) methodology, at the basis of the PEF, leads to continuity with the current intensive system. We also noted that the PEF does not take into account the use of inputs like pesticides, negative and positive externalities of different agriculture production methods on biodiversity, soil quality, deforestation or planetary boundaries.

Furthermore, we proposed the Planet-score, a tool that assesses the environmental impact by looking at externalities, as an alternative to the PEF. In cooperation with three MEPs from the Greens/EFA (Benoit Biteau, Claude Gruffat and Michèle Rivasi) and ITAB, IFOAM Organics Europe co-organised a day of events on 26 October on sustainability labelling and the Planet-Score. Three events took place on that day: a direct action in a supermarket in Brussels, near the European Parliament, where MEPs applied a logo based on the PEF methodology and the Planet-Score, a press conference in the European Parliament, and a webinar gathering economic, political, and technical experts. The webinar provided a more detailed overview because it informed on the technical part of the methodology and included the perspectives from the agricultural and food sectors as well as the textile and retailing sectors.

In 2022, we followed the legislative development of a front-of-pack (FOP) nutrition label. Until 7 March 2022, the European Commission called on stakeholders to give advice through the public consultation on the revision of the rules on information provided to consumers. This consultation focused on nutrition labelling, origin labelling, and date marking. IFOAM Organics Europe had previously provided feedback to the roadmap regarding this initiative stressing that a nutrition label is not the most effective in changing consumer behaviour. We also expressed concerns related to the Nutri-Score nutrition label as it does not take into account the naturalness of food products. IFOAM Organics Europe believes that a front-of-pack (FOP) nutrition labelling will not, on its own, provide a solution to overweight and obesity. In August, IFOAM Organics Europe published a new position paper on “Nutrition labelling & Nutri-Score”. This paper reaffirms the commitment of IFOAM Organics Europe to support a real and broad transformation of the food environment which goes beyond the implementation of a mandatory harmonised FOP label. We believe that empowering consumers to make informed, healthy, and sustainable food choices, requires raising awareness about nutrition but also different methods of production and the degree of processing of food.

Mobilising policy support for organic textile label

We reacted to the publication of the EU Strategy for sustainable and circular textiles right after its publication in Spring 2022. We provided feedback to the European Commission on different files such as the Sustainable Products Initiative and on the transition pathway on textiles. We also started contacting MEPs in July 2022 to raise awareness of organic textiles within the European Parliament. In August, we published our position paper on the issue titled “Organic textiles – Protecting the credibility of the organic label” in which we urged for the protection of organic textiles. The argument of the paper is that the credibility of the term “organic” in relation to textiles needs to be protected in the same way that organic food is in the EU. As such, the paper gives various recommendations on how to do so and thus prevent greenwashing issues riddling the ‘sustainable textile’ sector. We presented this argument also during a meeting with DG Grow on 7 October.

In November, our focus shifted towards addressing potential risks associated with the legislative proposals on green claims, particularly in the apparel and footwear sectors. Regarding this issue, we sent a joint letter to Executive Vice-President Timmermans and other EU commissioners which underscored the shortcomings of the Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) and stressed the necessity of a comprehensive approach, applicable to all agri-food products including textiles.

Building bridges in the organic supply chain

On 30 November, we organised the IFOAM Organics Europe Meets Business event in Brussels. This successful platform for exchange between players from the entire (organic) supply chain brings together IFOAM Organics Europe’s members and their members, as well as companies involved or interested in organic.

Event participants discussed current hot topics and trends in organic, including relevant political developments for organic and the state of play of the organic market, the relationship between regenerative agriculture and organic, pesticide residues, and organic regulation.