Learning from Planet Organic and The People's Supermarket

Last week we attended a conference in Oxford where the country’s organic pioneers gathered from all over the country. Speakers included Renée Elliott, the founder of Planet Organic, Arthur Potts Dawson from the People’s Supermarket, Nick Barnard from Rude Health and Paul Moore, Head of Marketing at Community Foods Ltd, who is spearheading the "Why I Love Organic Campaign". It was a group of people truly passionate about healthy living, ethical business and sustainability.

Renée Elliott kicked off the day as Keynote Speaker with her experiences of setting up Planet Organic. Launched in 1995, it is the first organic supermarket and the first Soil Association certified supermarket in the U.K.. Not only can you breeze through the aisles with a feeling of security from the certification and Planet Organic’s unique dietary symbols, they also provide service above and beyond the average supermarket. Planet Organic has a rigorous training programme for all staff, which includes time working on suppliers’ farms As a result of this, customers can get in-depth information about the product range and the supply chain direct from the shop floor.

Arthur Potts Dawson has taken customer interaction even further. The People’s Supermarket, of which he is founder and chairman, opened in 2010. Becoming a member costs £25 a year, which gives you 10% off all food, a £1 share in the company and the right to vote on company policy in meetings. They also ask for 4 hours of your time a month to work in the supermarket yourself. The customer therefore becomes a member of staff and part of the management. It is built on belief in a fair price for the producer as well as the customer. Although its primary focus is on ethical business practices, a significant proportion of the products are organic.

Sustainability was the name of the game this year. Organic products are natural partners with this concept; after all, organic farming promotes environmental sustainability by maintaining the nutritional quality of soil and waterways by prohibiting the use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides. Sustainability in business is the next step.

With Rawganic, that’s exactly what you get – our cotton is grown organically which leaves soil untainted and waterways clean. Sustainability is our business philosophy; we believe in giving a fair price to our producers for quality ingredients with good environmental provenance.