WASHINGTON, January 16, 2025 – On behalf of the Ethical Charter Implementation Program Advisory Group, Equitable Food Initiative announces the approval of 16 third-party certification programs whose standards align with the Ethical Charter on Responsible Labor Practices and therefore qualify growers participating in ECIP to earn a gold star and free access to the LAB platform.
The Ethical Charter Implementation Program (ECIP) launched the LAB (learn, assess and benchmark) online platform in November 2023 to highlight existing strong labor practices and identify opportunities for continuous improvement in other areas. Through an assessment tool and capacity-building resources, ECIP helps measure and strengthen grower alignment with the principles of the Ethical Charter. Created by an initial investment from the Walmart Foundation, and administered by the Equitable Food Initiative, ECIP is overseen by a multistakeholder Advisory Group of retailers, suppliers and industry groups.
The 16 ECIP-recognized certification programs, benchmarked by The Sustainability Consortium, have been evaluated to ensure that compliance with their standards demonstrates alignment with the Ethical Charter. By adhering to the approved certification program standards, growers demonstrate their commitment to field-level social responsibility, a critical step in strengthening labor practices across the industry.
Introduction of the Ethical Charter in 2018 was defined as the beginning of a cross-industry process to ensure that people throughout the supply chain are treated with dignity and respect. Recognizing the 16 approved certification programs in the ECIP LAB platform is a critical step toward recognizing strong labor practices and building employer capacity to implement management systems that uphold worker dignity, as the authors of the Ethical Charter intended.
Reflecting on its progress during its first year, Peter O’Driscoll, executive director of Equitable Food Initiative shares, “ECIP provides a valuable resource for all industry stakeholders to assess and improve labor management systems at the field level. As growers respond to the labor shortage by strengthening retention incentives, those who have invested in third-party certification deserve the market recognition that ECIP LAB highlights for their retail and food service customers.”
Growers pay a $200 annual subscription to ECIP LAB, granting them access to a suite of tools and resources designed to promote ethical labor practices and assess their progress. However, growers certified through one of the 16 approved certification programs do not pay any subscription fee for as long as their certification remains valid, thereby incentivizing their participation in ECIP LAB by recognizing the significant investments they have already made in achieving and maintaining credible certifications.
Roberta Anderson, president of GLOBAL G.A.P. North America, highlights the value of ECIP’s approach: “Benchmarking these certifications was a critical step to ensure requirements are harmonized and the burden on producers is reduced. Whether a producer is wanting to become certified or is already certified, engaging in ECIP LAB provides support for continuous improvement.”
The following field-level certifications have been benchmarked by The Sustainability Consortium and demonstrate alignment with Ethical Charter principles through on-site audits. Growers certified in any of the approved programs receive a free subscription to ECIP LAB and a gold star in their ECIP engagement profile. Certified growers are encouraged, but not required, to complete the ECIP LAB assessment questionnaire of 54 management systems that align to principles in the Ethical Charter and earn them additional green stars in their engagement profile.
The following 16 certification programs have been benchmarked to align with the Ethical Charter.
- BRCGS Ethical Trade and Responsible Sourcing (ETRS)
- Clearview
- Equitable Food Initiative with the Ethical Charter Addendum
- Fair Food Program
- Fair for Life
- Fair Trade International
- Fair Trade USA
- Florverde Sustainable Flowers
- GLOBALG.A.P: IFA plus GRASP add-on
- Kenya Flower Council – Gold or Silver
- MPS-Socially Qualified (SQ)
- Rainforest Alliance
- SA8000 – Social Accountability International
- SIZA – Sustainability Initiative of South Africa
- SMETA – Sedex Members Ethical Trade Audit
- Sustainably Grown
By promoting benchmarked certifications and waiving fees for certified growers, ECIP underscores its commitment to responsible labor practices while reducing barriers to participation. This initiative helps the produce industry maintain high labor standards while supporting growers’ continuous improvement in their social responsibility practices.
For more information about ECIP and ECIP LAB, visit ethicalcharterprogram.org.
About ECIP
The Ethical Charter Implementation Program (ECIP) is a collaboration among retailers, grower-shippers and implementing organizations to recognize and strengthen engagement around labor practices in the fresh produce industry, highlight existing best-practice efforts and identify opportunities for continuous improvement. The program is built around self-assessment to avoid the burden of an additional audit. Through an assessment tool and capacity-building resources, it helps measure and strengthen alignment with the principles of the Ethical Charter on Responsible Labor Practices. Launched with initial funding from the Walmart Foundation and administered by Equitable Food Initiative, the program is overseen by an advisory group composed of leading buyers and suppliers and key stakeholders, including representatives from AgSocio, Bonduelle Fresh Americas, Costco Wholesale, Kroger, McDonald’s USA, Naturipe, Sam’s Club, Target, Tanimura and Antle, Taylor Farms and Walmart. More information about the program can be found at ethicalcharterprogram.org.
About the Ethical Charter
The Ethical Charter on Responsible Labor Practices provides an industry framework for accountability and transparency related to respect for laws at work, respect for professional conduct and respect for human rights in the production and purchase of fresh fruits, vegetables and flowers. It was adopted in 2018 by the Produce Marketing Association and the United Fresh Produce Association (now combined to form the International Fresh Produce Association) after a committee of suppliers and buyers defined the common baseline to ensure everyone in the industry is treated with dignity and respect.
About ECIP LAB – Learn, Assess and Benchmark – powered by EFI
An online platform for growers, suppliers and buyers designed by EFI, ECIP LAB creates engagement with and alignment to the principles of the Ethical Charter on Responsible Labor Practices throughout the produce supply chain. Suppliers and their Growers are invited by their retail buyers to use an interactive tool, where they assess current practices and management systems, access resources, and review information around best practices. An engagement profile tracks each grower’s and supplier’s ongoing interaction with the tool to encourage and support continuous improvement. Suppliers and their retail customers will see aggregated, anonymized data from their supply chain.
About Equitable Food Initiative
Equitable Food Initiative is a capacity-building and certification nonprofit that works to improve the lives of farmworkers and drive business performance by integrating worker engagement throughout the supply chain. As a multistakeholder organization, EFI brings together growers, farmworkers, retailers and consumers to create assessment, training and organizational development programs that support continuous improvement and address the industry’s most pressing challenges.