ECHOstore to sell organic goods certified by Naturland

ECHOstore said it will start selling Naturland-certified organic products following the forging of a partnership between the two sustainable lifestyle entities that seek to boost organic farming in the country.

The company said it has partnered with Naturland, a Germany-based farmers association and organic agriculture certifier, with the former becoming the first store in the country to sell products certified by Naturland.

The products that would be first sold at the ECHOstore are virgin coconut oil, turmeric powder and tea from Davao, and muscovado sugar from Negros.

“Although having offered food products for some time now, we decided to replace them step by step by Naturland certified organic products to provide orientation for customers in this crowded market of natural and organic products,” ECHOstore Founder Pacita U. Juan said in a statement.

Juan, who has been an advocate for organic products for 15 years, said Naturland’s organic certification standards “go clearly beyond government requirements.”

Juan said ECHOstore has dedicated a special section in its online store for Naturland certified organic products. She added that the products would also be available in the company’s physical store in Makati.

Naturland International Development Manager Marco Schlueter said the partnership would “help boost organic farming in the Philippines and to create better livelihoods” for smallholder farmers.

“We partnered with ECHOstore because of their long-standing commitment to the organic movement,” Schlueter said.

“Moreover, in the midst of the worldwide Covid-19 crisis our more than 3,000 Naturland farmers in the Philippines can thus find new market opportunities. With ECHOstore they can now also sell their produce in the local market, additionally to their overseas exports.”

Urmatt Group of Thailand Chairman Arvind Narula lauded the partnership noting that the Philippines is “now joining the club of Southeast Asian countries developing their domestic organic markets—after being mainly concentrated on exporting to European Union and the United States.”